skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Delignified wood aerogels as scaffolds coated with an oriented chitosan–cyclodextrin co-polymer for removal of microcystin-LR
Title: Delignified wood aerogels as scaffolds coated with an oriented chitosan–cyclodextrin co-polymer for removal of microcystin-LR
Nano-porous aerogels are an advantageous approach to produce low-density materials with high surface area, particularly when using biobased materials. Frequently, most biobased aerogels are synthesized through a bottom-up approach, which requires high energy inputs to break and rebuild the raw materials, and for elimination of water. To curb this, this work focused on generating aerogels by a top-down approach through the delignification of a wood substrate while eliminating water by solvent exchange. To diversify the surface chemistry for use in water treatment, the delignified wood–nanowood-was coated with a chitosan–cyclodextrin co-polymer and tested in the capture of microcystin-LR. The generated nanowood structure had 75% porosity after coating, with up to 339% water swelling and an adsorption capacity of 0.12 mg g −1 of the microcystin. This top-down technique enables the generation of low-cost aerogels by reducing steps, using a biobased self-assembled coating with hydrophobic active sites, and avoiding costly energetic input.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2047762
PAR ID:
10397834
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
RSC Advances
Volume:
12
Issue:
31
ISSN:
2046-2069
Page Range / eLocation ID:
20330 to 20339
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Advanced Materials)
    Wood materials are being reinvented to carry superior properties for a variety of new applications. Cutting‐edge nanomanufacturing transforms traditional bulky and low‐value woods into advanced materials that have desired structures, durability, and functions to replace nonrenewable plastics, polymers, and metals. Here, a first prospect report on how novel nanowood materials have been developed and applied in water and associated industries is provided, wherein their unique features and promises are discussed. First, the unique hierarchical structure and associated properties of the material are introduced, and then how such features can be harnessed and modified by either bottom‐up or top‐down manufacturing to enable different functions for water filtration, chemical adsorption and catalysis, energy and resource recovery, as well as energy‐efficient desalination and environmental cleanup are discussed. The study recognizes that this is a nascent but very promising field; therefore, insights are offered to encourage more research and development. Trees harness solar energy and CO2 and provide abundant carbon‐negative materials. Once harvested and utilized, it is believed that advanced wood materials will play a vital role in enabling a circular water economy. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation)
    Hydrophobic surfaces provide special characteristics for biomedical applications ranging from tunable protein adsorption, cellular interactions, and hemocompatibility to antibacterial coatings. In this research, we biomimic the hair-like micro-whisker structures of magnolia leaf using a synthetic polymeric formulation. Optical and scanning electron microscopy images revealed the presence of micro-whiskers resulting in higher water contact angles. The top layer of the magnolia leaf had a contact angle of 50º as compared to the hydrophobic bottom layer at 98º. A synthetic polymeric formulation was coated on different materials to study its effect on hydrophobicity. The coating was replicated (n=3) on each of the materials used such as glass, polymer, fabric, wood, and stainless steel. A surface tensiometer was used to measure the transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic interactions between water and the substrate materials. Contact angle measurements revealed an increase in hydrophobicity for all the materials from their original uncoated surface. Glass displayed the highest increase in contact angle from 37º to 90º. Phase analysis of the coated region was performed to characterize the surface exposure of glass substrate to the synthetic polymeric formulation. An increase in the coated region showed a significant increase in contact angle from 50º to 95º. This research lays the foundation to develop and understand hydrophobic coatings for several biomedical applications including non-fouling implant surfaces, lab-on-chip devices, and other diagnostic tools. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; (, Polymer Degradation and Stability)
    The natural abundance, biodegradability, and low density of plant 昀椀bers, together with biobased epoxy thermoset resin, have driven the increasing popularity of plant 昀椀ber/polymer composites (PFRPs) to wider applications in various industries. However, the striving for biomass-based 昀氀ame retardants (FRs) treatment for PFRPs remained a bottleneck due to polymers’ inherent vulnerability against 昀椀re and the increasing environmental awareness. In this work, a facile two-step aqueous solution coating process was proposed for fabric surface treatment of 昀氀ax fabric using fully biobased phytic acid and chitosan from polysaccharides. The treated 昀氀ax fabric demonstrated self-extinguishing behavior when ignited and showed a decrease in peak heat release rate (PHRR) by 58% under combustion. The laminate produced by this treated 昀氀ax fabric and biobased epoxy resin showed a decrease of PHRR by 36% and an increase of more than 200% for the time of torch 昀椀re burn-through, demonstrating intriguing 昀氀ame retardance brought by only FRs treatment on 昀氀ax fabric reinforcements. Various measurements were done to elaborate on the role of treated 昀氀ax fabric in the 昀氀ame retardancy of polymer composites. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; (, Langmuir)
    Surface nanobubbles forming on hydrophobic surfaces in water present an exciting opportunity as potential agents of top-down and bottom-up nanopatterning. The formation and characteristics of surface nanobubbles are strongly influenced by the physical and chemical properties of the substrate. In this study, focused ion beam (FIB) milling is used for the first time to spatially control the nucleation of surface nanobubbles with 75 nm precision. The spontaneous formation of nanobubbles on alternating lines of a self-assembled monolayer (octadecyltrichlorosilane) patterned by FIB is detected by atomic force microscopy. The effect of chemical vs topographical surface heterogeneity on the formation of nanobubbles is investigated by comparing samples with OTS coating applied pre- vs post-FIB patterning. The results confirm that nanoscale FIB-based patterning can effectively control surface nanobubble position by means of chemical heterogeneity. The effect of FIB milling on nanobubble morphology and properties, including contact angle and gas oversaturation, is also reported. Molecular dynamics simulations provide further insight into the effects of FIB amorphization on surface nanobubble formation. Combined experimental and simulation investigations offer insights to guide future nanobubble-based patterning using FIB milling. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Advanced Functional Materials)
    Abstract A variety of unconventional materials, including biological nanostructures, organic and hybrid semiconductors, as well as monolayer, and other low‐dimensional systems, are actively explored. They are usually incompatible with standard lithographic techniques that use harsh organic solvents and other detrimental processing. Here, a new class of green and gentle lithographic resists, compatible with delicate materials and capable of both top‐down and bottom‐up fabrication routines is developed. To demonstrate the excellence of this approach, devices with sub‐micron features are fabricated on organic semiconductor crystals and individual animal's brain microtubules. Such structures are created for the first time, thanks to the genuinely water‐based lithography, which opens an avenue for the thorough research of unconventional delicate materials at the nanoscale. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email