Lignocellulosic-biomass-derived transparent nanopaper is an emerging substrate or functional component for next-generation green optoelectronics. The fabrication of such transparent nanopaper typically needs the delignification of lignocellulose; however, delignification not only is environmentally unfriendly but also impairs the nanopaper properties such as water stability and UV-shielding capacity. In this study, we present a green and facile lignin modification method instead of delignification to fabricate transparent nanopaper from agro-industrial waste with the combined intriguing properties of lignin and cellulose. Because lignin modification selectively removes chromophores without affecting the bulk lignocellulosic structures, the as-prepared lignocellulose nanopaper (LNP) achieved a comparable optical transmittance (∼90%) but superior UV-blocking ability and haze (∼46%) compared with previously reported cellulose (or delignified) nanopaper. The well-preserved lignin structures endowed the transparent LNP with a low surface energy and a small mesoporous size and volume. In addition to a high thermal stability, the transparent LNP exhibited excellent water stability, evidenced by an up to 103° initial water contact angle, a low equilibrium water absorption (<60 wt %), and a high wet mechanical strength (nearly 40% tensile strength and 92% toughness retained in the wet state). Furthermore, we fabricated a GaAs solar cell with the transparent LNP as an advanced light-management layer that leads to significantly improved power conversion efficiency, even under damp conditions. This work sheds light on the conversion of agro-industrial waste to nanopaper with desirable performances for optoelectronics and brings us a step closer toward the scalable production and application of LNP.
The separation and extraction of chrysin from active ingredients of natural products are of great significance, but the existing separation and extraction methods have certain drawbacks. Here, chrysin molecularly imprinted nanofiber membranes (MINMs) were prepared by means of electrospinning using chrysin as a template and polyvinyl alcohol and natural renewable resource rosin ester as membrane materials, which were used for the separation of active components in the natural product. The MINM was examined using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The adsorption performance, adsorption kinetics, adsorption selectivity, and reusability of the MINM were investigated in static adsorption experiments. The analysis results show that the MINM was successfully prepared with good morphology and thermal stability. The MINM has a good adsorption capacity for chrysin, showing fast adsorption kinetics, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 127.5 mg·g−1, conforming to the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition, the MINM exhibited good selectivity and excellent reusability. Therefore, the MINM proposed in this paper is a promising material for the adsorption and separation of chrysin.
The exploration of functional films using sustainable cellulose-based materials to replace plastics has been of much interest. In this work, two kinds of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) were mixed with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) for the fabrication of composite films with biodegradable, flexible and ultraviolet blocking performances. LNPs isolated from p-toluenesulfonic acid hydrolysis was easily recondensed and deposited on the surface of composite film, resulting in a more uneven surface; however, the composite film consisting of CNFs and LNPs isolated from maleic acid hydrolysis exhibited a homogeneous surface. Compared to pure CNF film, the composite CNF/LNP films exhibited higher physical properties (tensile strength of 164 MPa and Young’s modulus of 8.0 GPa), a higher maximal weight loss temperature of 310 °C, and a perfect UVB blocking performance of 95.2%. Meanwhile, the composite film had a lower environmental impact as it could be rapidly biodegraded in soil and manmade seawater. Overall, our results open new avenues for the utilization of lignin nanoparticles in biopolymer composites to produce functional and biodegradable film as a promising alternative to petrochemical plastics.
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