Thermal Management by Engineering the Alignment of Nanocellulose

Abstract

One of the grand current research challenges is to improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings, which cumulatively consume more than 40% of the energy generated globally. In addition to improving the comfort of the inhabitants and mitigating the growing energy consumption problem, new building materials and technologies could provide a safe strategy for geoengineering to mitigate global climate change. Herein, recent progress in developing such advanced materials from nanocellulose, which is often derived from wood or even dirty feedstocks like waste, is reviewed. By using chemical and bacteria‐enabled processing, nanocellulose can be used to fabricate broadband photonic reflectors, thermally super‐insulating aerogels, solar gain regulators, and low‐emissivity coatings, with potential applications in windows, roofs, walls, and other components of buildings envelopes. These material developments draw inspiration from advanced energy management found in nature, such as the nanoporous photonic structures that evolved in cuticles of beetles. Fabrication of such materials takes advantage of mesoscale liquid crystalline self‐assembly, which allows for pre‐designed control of cellulose nanoparticle orientations at the mesoscale. With the potential fully realized, such materials could one day transform the current energy‐lossy buildings into energy plants on Earth and possibly even enable extraterrestrial habitats.

Cellulose-Based Hybrid Structural Material for Radiative Cooling

“…Buildings energy consumption accounts for more than 35% of the overall energy in China. Air conditioning is the main component of building energy consumption, accounting for more than 50%, making it a huge impact on energy and the environment. − According to a study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the world’s residential and commercial air-conditioning electricity consumption reached 1,932 TW h in 2018, among which China’s air-conditioning electricity consumption accounted for 34%, ranking first in the world . In contrast to most of the traditional methods of taking away heat through energy and resource consumption, radiative cooling is a passive cooling method that releases heat into space in the form of radiation. − Therefore, it is of great significance to initiate the radiant cooling work from the building to moderate the energy consumption of the social terminal and greenhouse gases emissions, so that the sustainable development of energy can be achieved. , …”

Sustainable polymer materials for flexible light control and thermal management

“…53 The ability to organize these nanofibrils at scales comparable to the wavelengths of visible and infrared light allows control over spectral selectivity as described above in some conventional polymer films, as well as control over heat transport. 46,54 Given the large volume of cellulose available, this choice is potentially scalable to meet the demands of a widely-used technology. Environmental degradability is one important aspect of achieving low-impact, sustainable material development.…”

“…In the case of thermal management, such a material could adapt to the temperature variability of the human body at different activity levels, of buildings across seasonal weather patterns, and of spacecrafts through environmental extremes. 14,45,46 Dynamic control of light is also of interest in thermal camouflage applications.…”

Lightweight, Environmentally Friendly, and Underwater Superelastic 3D-Architectured Aerogels for Efficient Protein Separation

“…Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) have gained significant research interest due to their renewable, sustainable, and abundant resources characteristic . CNF exhibit a high aspect ratio and good flexibility, making them attractive to act as building blocks for constructing high-performance 3D architectures . Specifically, cellulosic aerogels, as an environment-friendly material, have been widely applied in oil/water separation, , air filtration, , and energy storage devices. , The easy fabrication, great environmental friendliness, tunable 3D network structure, and good mechanical robustness of cellulosic aerogels provide us with inspiration to explore their novel application in the purification and separation of proteins.…”