This review highlights the latest research studies about the use of lignocellulosic nanocellulose-based composites in the applications of wastewater treatment and waste-oil remediation. Three types of composites are described, including nanocellulose-based aerogels, nanocellulose-based membranes, and new wood-based morph-genetic materials. The fabrication and modification techniques to prepare these composites are introduced. The effectiveness and efficiency of these composites in the adsorption of heavy metal ions, dyes, and micropollutants, separation of oil and water, and catalytic degradation of organic pollutants are discussed, respectively. In addition, the challenges and opportunities of nanocellulose-based composites in these areas and the future research directions of lignocellulosic nanocellulose composites for wastewater treatment and waste-oil remediation are addressed.
It was well established that microwave radiation was utilized initially to enhance the electrical conductivity of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) by introducing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) without using any solvent. High electrical conductivity was obtained in polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with low CNTs loading levels. Under an inert gas protection, the CNTs were heated through the transformation of electromagnetic energy into mechanical vibrations. The surface of PP was easily molten by the heat generated by CNTs, then a well-formed CNTs network was built under proper microwave treatment period and subsequent hot pressing. CNTs loading levels and processing temperatures played an important role in the crystal structure, crystalline fraction and crystallization temperature of both nest PP and its PP/CNT PNCs. Moreover, the pressing temperature and CNT loading levels had an obvious effect on the electrical conductivity, which were the main factors on network formation. Electron transport with a three-dimensional route was observed from the study of the variable range hopping (VRH) mechanistic. The unique negative magnetoresistance (MR) phenomenon was shown in the PNCs and theoretically discussed by the forward interference model. The calculated optical band-gap of PNCs decreased with increasing the CNT loading. Other properties have been also well tested and analyzed.
Flexible sandwich structural strain sensors based on silver nanowire supported PDMS/PVDF electrospun membrane substrates exhibit a gauge factor of 654.5.
Polymer composites play a significant role in developing flame retardants to prevent fire accidents. The current work aims at investigating the flame retardancy of vinyl ester resins (VER) reinforced with nanotitania (nano-TiO 2) nanofiller. The surface functionality of nano-TiO 2 was modified by adding Si and N 2 to improve its flame retardancy. The chemical structure and thermal stability of nanocomposites were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Peaks of Si and N 2 in the modified TiO 2-VER nanocomposite and weight loss of the modified composite confirmed the addition of Si and N 2. The tensile strength results have shown that modified TiO 2-VER nanocomposites didn't make any significant impact on the tensile strength in comparison with pure VER. The flammability and thermal stability behaviors of these nanocomposites are evaluated using microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC). At high percent loading of nanofiller, the normalized heat release capacity (HRC) of modified TiO 2-VER nanocomposites was decreased by 27.7%, whereas the HRC of unmodified TiO 2-VER nanocomposites was only reduced by 9.8%. Also, the normalized total heat release of modified nanofiller based PNC was found to be 21.4%, whereas the unmodified PNC was 12.4%.
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