Bacterial Nanocellulose (BNCs) Supported Inorganic Nanomaterials for Catalytic Applications

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in the field of nanocomposites and sustainable materials, namely, for catalytic and biomedical applications, and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is an interesting and renewable natural nano-biomaterial that could play a role in these areas. The exceptional crystallinity, mechanical strength, purity, porosity, moldability, water-holding capacity, biodegradability, and biological affinity of BNC are only a few of its remarkable physical features. These properties distinguish BNC as an excellent substrate/matrix for customizing with metals, metal oxides, or metal compounds/complexes, as opposed to plant-based nanocellulose. The low rate of catalyst leaching from the catalyst support and the simplicity of separating the catalyst from the reaction medium provide cellulose-supported catalysts a high recycling potential. These bio nanocomposites based on BNCs have many uses, one of which is in catalysis. These BNC-supported metal based catalysts have a wider range of applications, including, environmental purification, bioremediation, the treatment of wastewater, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, various organic transformations including coupling processes, reduction and oxidation reactions, and a great deal more. Novel catalytic applications based on the insights on metal supported BNC systems are expected to emerge eventually.KeywordsBacterial nanocelluloseSurface modified BNCMetal/BNC compositesCatalysisBNCs grafted inorganic catalystsBNC catalyzed chemical reactionsElectrochemical publications of BNCEnvironmental remediation