Both cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) are nanoscale cellulose fibers that have shown reinforcing effects in polymer nanocomposites. CNCs and CNFs are different in shape, size and composition. This study systematically compared their morphologies, crystalline structure, dispersion properties in polyethylene oxide (PEO) matrix, interactions with matrix, and the resulting reinforcing effects on the matrix polymer. Transparent PEO/CNC and PEO/CNF nanocomposites comprising up to 10 wt % nanofibers were obtained via solution casting. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), and tensile testing were used to examine the above-mentioned properties of nanocellulose fibers and composites. At the same nanocellulose concentration, CNFs led to higher strength and modulus than did CNCs due to CNFs' larger aspect ratio and fiber entanglement, but lower strain-at-failure because of their relatively large fiber agglomerates. The Halpin-Kardos and Ouali models were used to simulate the modulus of the composites and good agreements were found between the predicted and experimental values. This type of systematic comparative study can help to develop the criteria for selecting proper nanocellulose as a biobased nano-reinforcement material in polymer nanocomposites.

CitationThe temperature-dependent microstructure of PEDOT/PSS films: insights from morphological, mechanical and electrical analyses 2014, 2 (46)

Highly conductive and stretchable fibers are crucial components of wearable electronics systems. Excellent electrical conductivity, stretchability, and wearability are required from such fibers. Existing technologies still display limited performances in these design requirements. Here, achieving highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors by using a coaxial structure, prepared via coaxial wet spinning of thermoplastic elastomer‐wrapped carbon nanotube fibers, is proposed. The sensors attain high sensitivity (with a gauge factor of 425 at 100% strain), high stretchability, and high linearity. They are also reproducible and durable. Their use as safe sensing components on deformable cable, expandable surfaces, and wearable textiles is demonstrated.

The development of strain sensors featuring both ultra high sensitivity and high stretchability is still a challenge. We demonstrate that strain sensors based on fragmented single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) paper embedded in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) can sustain their sensitivity even at very high strain levels (with a gauge factor of over 10 at 50% strain). This record sensitivity is ascribed to the low initial electrical resistance (5-28 Ω) of the SWCNT paper and the wide change in resistance (up to 10 Ω) governed by the percolated network of SWCNT in the cracked region. The sensor response remains nearly unchanged after 10 000 strain cycles at 20% proving the robustness of this technology. This fragmentation based sensing system brings opportunities to engineer highly sensitive stretchable sensors.

Currently, most carbon aerogels are based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene, which are produced through a catalyst‐assisted chemical vapor deposition method. Biomass based organic aerogels and carbon aerogels, featuring low cost, high scalability, and small environmental footprint, represent an important new research direction in (carbon) aerogel development. Cellulose and lignin are the two most abundant natural polymers in the world, and the aerogels based on them are very promising. Classic silicon aerogels and available organic resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) or lignin–resorcinol–formaldehyde (LRF) aerogels are brittle and fragile; toughening of the aerogels is highly desired to expand their applications. This study reports the first attempt to toughen the intrinsically brittle LRF aerogel and carbon aerogel using bacterial cellulose. The facile process is catalyst‐free and cost‐effective. The toughened carbon aerogels, consisting of blackberry‐like, core–shell structured, and highly graphitized carbon nanofibers, are able to undergo at least 20% reversible compressive deformation. Due to their unique nanostructure and large mesopore population, the carbon materials exhibit an areal capacitance higher than most of the reported values in the literature. This property makes them suitable candidates for flexible solid‐state energy storage devices. Besides energy storage, the conductive interconnected nanoporous structure can also find applications in oil/water separation, catalyst supports, sensors, and so forth.

A dramatic improvement in electrical conductivity is necessary to make conductive polymer fibers viable candidates in applications such as flexible electrodes, conductive textiles, and fast-response sensors and actuators. In this study, high-performance poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) conjugated polymer microfibers were fabricated via wet-spinning followed by hot-drawing. Due to the combined effects of the vertical hot-drawing process and doping/de-doping the microfibers with ethylene glycol (EG), we achieved a record electrical conductivity of 2804 S · cm −1 . This is, to the best of our knowledge, a six-fold improvement over the best previously reported value for PEDOT/PSS fibers (467 S · cm −1 ) and a two-fold improvement over the best values for conductive polymer films treated by EG de-doping (1418 S · cm −1 ). Moreover, we found that these highly conductive fibers experience a semiconductor-metal transition at 313 K. They also have superior mechanical properties with a Young's modulus up to 8.3 GPa, a tensile strength reaching 409.8 MPa and a large elongation before failure (21%). The most conductive fiber also demonstrates an extraordinary electrical performance during stretching/unstreching: the conductivity increased by 25% before the fiber rupture point with a maximum strain up to 21%. Simple fabrication of the semimetallic, strong and stretchable wet-spun PEDOT/PSS microfibers described here could make them available for conductive smart electronics.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one of the most important environmental factors involved in the pathogenesis of skin aging and cancer. Many harmful effects of UV radiation are associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species, and cellular antioxidants act to prevent the occurrence and reduce the severity of UV-induced skin disorders. Transcription factor NF-E2-related Factor 2 (Nrf2) and its cytoplasmic anchor protein Kelch-like-ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) are central regulators of the cellular antioxidant response. In this study, we investigated the effects of UV irradiation on the activation of Nrf2 in dermal fibroblasts. We found that UVA irradiation, but not UVB, causes nuclear translocation and accumulation of Nrf2 by a factor of 6.5 as compared with unirradiated controls. The nuclear accumulation of Nrf2 induced by UVA was enhanced by the photosensitizer hematoporphyrin. To evaluate the protective role of Nrf2 against UVA radiation, we examined UVA-induced apoptosis using dermal fibroblasts derived from nrf2 or keap1 gene knockout mice. Whereas disruption of nrf2 increased the number of apoptotic cells following UVA irradiation by 1.7-fold, disruption of keap1 decreased the apoptotic cell number by half as compared with wild-type controls. These findings thus demonstrate that the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway plays an important role in the protection of the skin against UVA irradiation.

Paper is an excellent candidate to replace plastics as a substrate for flexible electronics due to its low cost, renewability and flexibility. Cellulose nanopaper (CNP), a new type of paper made of nanosized cellulose fibers, is a promising substrate material for transparent and flexible electrodes due to its potentially high transparency and high mechanical strength. Although CNP substrates can achieve high transparency, they are still characterized by high diffuse transmittance and small direct transmittance, resulting in high optical haze of the substrates. In this study, we proposed a simple methodology for large-scale production of high-transparency, low-haze CNP comprising both long cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and short cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). By varying the CNC/CNF ratio in the hybrid CNP, we could tailor its total transmittance, direct transmittance and diffuse transmittance. By increasing the CNC content, the optical haze of the hybrid CNP could be decreased and its transparency could be increased. The direct transmittance and optical haze of the CNP were 75.1% and 10.0%, respectively, greatly improved from the values of previously reported CNP (31.1% and 62.0%, respectively). Transparent, flexible electrodes were fabricated by coating the hybrid CNP with silver nanowires (AgNWs). The electrodes showed a low sheet resistance (minimum 1.2 Ω sq(-1)) and a high total transmittance (maximum of 82.5%). The electrodes were used to make a light emitting diode (LED) assembly to demonstrate their potential use in flexible displays.