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Abstract
An isolation method with mild mechanical agitation and no acidic extraction step from a mushroom substrate resulted in chitin nanofibers (ChNFs) with large shares of retained glucans (50–65%). The subsequent chitin nanopapers exhibited exceptionally high tensile strengths of >200 MPa and moduli of ca. 7 GPa, which were largely attributed to the preserved glucans in the mixture, imparting a composite nature to the nanopapers. The isolation method for ChNFs is notably different from the conventional process with crustacean chitin sources that do not incorporate glucans and where an acidic extraction step for the removal of minerals must always be included
Highlights
Nanosized filaments such as carbon nanotubes,[1] metal oxide nanowires,[2] and polymer nanofibers[3] are intensively researched within contemporary materials science
Polymer nanofibers in general have commonly been manufactured via bottom-up electrospinning from dissolved state,[3] but the native supramolecular ordering of polysaccharides as nanosized fibrils enables a more robust top-down route for their isolation, usually set in aqueous environment.[7−9] In the case of cellulose and chitin, the top-down isolated nanofibers possess unusually high mechanical properties because of their structural role in nature.[7−9] it has been popular to envision the use of polysaccharide nanofibers as reinforcing components in sustainable composites[10] or on their own in nonwoven, often transparent or translucent networks called nanopapers.[11−13] This Letter shows how chitin nanofibers (ChNFs) can be isolated using a simple preparation method (Figure 1), which is optimized for the materials performance for the subsequent nanopapers
This study has demonstrated that mushroom tissue is an exceptionally viable alternative for the acquisition of ChNFs
Summary
Nanosized filaments such as carbon nanotubes,[1] metal oxide nanowires,[2] and polymer nanofibers[3] are intensively researched within contemporary materials science. In this area, nanofibers based on renewable resources has been an emerging topic for the past decade.[4] Aside from protein-based alternatives like amyloid[5] and silk,[6] native polysaccharides, e.g., cellulose,[7,8] and chitin[9] have been frequently employed.
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