Functional nanostructured materials templated by natural cellulose substance

Abstract

Natural bio-substances are ideal template substrates for the fabrication of functional artificial nanostructured materials due to their unique naturally produced structures and properties that prior to man-made ones. As being one of the most abundant natural polymers, natural cellulose substances possess unique structural hierarchies from macro- to molecular scales, as well as porous network structures at nanometer levels; hence excellent properties and functionalities are expected for the artificial matters templated by which. To introduce the unique structural features and properties such as the porous structures and the high inner surface areas of the natural cellulose substances into artificial functional materials to the maximum extent possible, duplication of natural cellulose substances by using various inorganic and organic guest substances with nanometer precisions provides an efficient solution. Ultrathin metal oxide gel films with nanometer thicknesses can be deposited onto the nanofibers of bulk cellulose substances by means of the surface sol-gel process, and specific guest substrates can be further assembled onto the film surfaces; further removal of the cellulose components by proper treatment results in artificial functional nanostructured materials possessing the hierarchical structures and morphologies of the initial cellulose substances. In this review, the recent research progress in this aspect is summarized, showing the results on the design and fabrication of novel nanomaterials such as nanostructured metal oxides and their composites, polymeric nanomaterials as well as silicon and metal nanomaterials. It has been demonstrated that it is a facile, low-coat and environment friendly shortcut to functional materials by using natural cellulose substances as templates or scaffolds.