Abstract
Cellulose is one of the important biomass materials in nature and has shown wide applications in various fields from materials science, biomedicine, tissue engineering, wearable devices, energy, and environmental science, as well as many others. Due to their one-dimensional nanostructure, high specific surface area, excellent biodegradability, low cost, and high sustainability, cellulose nanofibrils/nanofibers (CNFs) have been widely used for environmental science applications in the last years. In this review, we summarize the advance in the design, synthesis, and water purification applications of CNF-based functional nanomaterials. To achieve this aim, we firstly introduce the synthesis and functionalization of CNFs, which are further extended for the formation of CNF hybrid materials by combining with other functional nanoscale building blocks, such as polymers, biomolecules, nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and two-dimensional (2D) materials. Then, the fabrication methods of CNF-based 2D membranes/films, three-dimensional (3D) hydrogels, and 3D aerogels are presented. Regarding the environmental science applications, CNF-based nanomaterials for the removal of metal ions, anions, organic dyes, oils, and bio-contents are demonstrated and discussed in detail. Finally, the challenges and outlooks in this promising research field are discussed. It is expected that this topical review will guide and inspire the design and fabrication of CNF-based novel nanomaterials with high sustainability for practical applications.
Highlights
Rapid population growth, modern industrial development, and increased agricultural production have led to the pollution of natural and drinking water systems, in which a lot of toxic and harmful pollutants, such as metal cations, anions, oils, organic dyes, drug molecules, bacteria, and viruses, exist
Great achievements have been obtained, it is necessary to present a summary of the methodologies of cellulose nanofibrils/nanofibers (CNFs)-based 1D, 2D, and 3D materials, and to demonstrate their applications in environmental science based on their tailored structure and function
We focus on the synthesis and functionalization of CNFs for the fabrication of functional nanomaterials for environmental science applications
Summary
Modern industrial development, and increased agricultural production have led to the pollution of natural and drinking water systems, in which a lot of toxic and harmful pollutants, such as metal cations, anions, oils, organic dyes, drug molecules, bacteria, and viruses, exist. The fabrication of nanocellulose-based bioadsorbents for chemical contaminant remediation [22] and water purification [23] and environmental remediation [24] has been presented. This work reveals the novelty and significance of both structural adjusting and functional tailoring of CNF-based functional materials and their emerging environmental science applications for removing various contaminants from water. In order to promote the easy operation and application of CNFs, it is necessary to carry out suitable treatments on CNFs to form 2D and 3D nano/micro-structures In this part, we present various strategies for the fabrication of CNF-based 1D CNF hybrids, 2D membranes/films, as well as 3D hydrogels and aerogels
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