title: Coherent-Interface-Assembled Ag2O-Anchored Nanofibrillated Cellulose Porous Aerogels for Radioactive Iodine Capture.
abstract: Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) has received increasing attention in science and technology because of not only the availability of large amounts of cellulose in nature but also its unique structural and physical features. These high-aspect-ratio nanofibers have potential applications in water remediation and as a reinforcing scaffold in composites, coatings, and porous materials because of their fascinating properties. In this work, highly porous NFC aerogels were prepared based on tert-butanol freeze-drying of ultrasonically isolated bamboo NFC with 20-80 nm diameters. Then nonagglomerated 2-20-nm-diameter silver oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles (NPs) were grown firmly onto the NFC scaffold with a high loading content of ∼500 wt % to fabricate Ag2O@NFC organic-inorganic composite aerogels (Ag2O@NFC). For the first time, the coherent interface and interaction mechanism between the cellulose Iβnanofiber and Ag2O NPs are explored by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and 3D electron tomography. Specifically, a strong hydrogen between Ag2O and NFC makes them grow together firmly along a coherent interface, where good lattice matching between specific crystal planes of Ag2O and NFC results in very small interfacial straining. The resulting Ag2O@NFC aerogels take full advantage of the properties of the 3D organic aerogel framework and inorganic NPs, such as large surface area, interconnected porous structures, and supreme mechanical properties. They open up a wide horizon for functional practical usage, for example, as a flexible superefficient adsorbent to capture I-ions from contaminated water and trap I2vapor for safe disposal, as presented in this work. The viable binding mode between many types of inorganic NPs and organic NFC established here highlights new ways to investigate cellulose-based functional nanocomposites.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry , Beijing 100091, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Australian Center for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney , Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering College, Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University , Harbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Runan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering College, Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University , Harbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Shaoliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering College, Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University , Harbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry , Beijing 100091, China.
authors.forename: Yafang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry , Beijing 100091, China.|Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.
authors.forename: Siqun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering College, Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University , Harbin 150040, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University , Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia.|College of Chemistry, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Laboratory of Fiber Materials and Modern Textile, the Growing Base for State Key Laboratory, Qingdao University , Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Dongjiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Ag2O nanocrystals; aerogel; coherent interface; iodine capture; nanofibrillated cellulose