Human-made natural-fiber-based filaments are attractive for natural fiber-reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites. However, the composites' moisture distribution is critical, and humidity monitoring in the NFRP composites is essential to secure stability and keep their life span. In this research, high strength and humidity sensing filament was developed by blending cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and graphene oxide (GO), wet-spinning, coagulating, and drying, which can overcome the heterogeneous mechanical properties between embedded-type humidity sensors and NFRP composites. The stabilized synthesis process of the CNF-GO hybrid filament demonstrated the maximum Young's modulus of 23.9 GPa and the maximum tensile strength of 439.4 MPa. Furthermore, the achieved properties were successfully transferred to a continuous fabrication process with an additional stretching process. Furthermore, its humidity sensing behavior is shown by resistivity changes in various temperature and humidity levels. Therefore, this hybrid filament has excellent potential for in-situ humidity monitoring by embedding in smart wearable devices, natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites, and environmental sensing devices.
Developing robust bio‐based epoxy against petroleum‐derived epoxy is necessary for environmentally friendly and high‐performance natural fiber‐reinforced composites. A bio‐based vanillin epoxy (VE) is synthesized from the lignin‐derived vanillin, and a thermoset resin is prepared after mixing it with a 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl methane (DDM) hardener. Further, it is infused in high‐cellulose‐containing alkali‐treated jute fiber (TJF) mats through a simple approach to enhance the adhesion between the VE‐DDM and TJF. Bio‐based VE‐DDM resin shows better compatibility with TJF than petroleum‐derived bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) epoxy. The bio‐based VE‐DDM/TJF composite demonstrates the Tgis ≈165 °C, tensile strength is ≈83.12 ± 3.80 MPa, and Young's modulus is ≈2.86 ± 0.10 GPa with excellent flexural strength (138.72 ± 3.81 MPa) and flexural modulus (8.01 ± 0.11 GPa). It also shows merits regarding hydrophobicity, reduced water absorption ability, durability, and chemical resistance in an acidic medium. The natural fiber‐reinforced VE composites pave the way to produce environmentally friendly and high‐performance composites for structural applications.
Disposable plastic straws negatively impact the environment and human health while their alternatives such as paper straws are not satisfactory owing to limited mechanical performance and poor user experience. In this report, all-natural and biocompatible straws are fabricated from starch and polyvinyl alcohol slurries respectively. The functionality of the slurries is enhanced by integrating economical resources such as kraft lignin and citric acid. By doctor blading of the slurries followed by subsequent heat treatment, self-bonding straws are fabricated without the use of binders or adhesives. Through heat treatment, our straws achieve excellent strength than paper-based straws. Owing to the strong ester bond network, the straws display superior performance that surpasses commercial plastic counterparts thus meeting the requirements for practical applications. Specifically, the straws are hydro-stable for over 24 hrs. and display a desirable closed-loop degradability aspect making our straws eco-friendly substitutes for synthetic plastic straws.
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