Bifunctional Materials Research Articles

Fluorination improves the mesomorphic and photovoltaic performance of rod-like liquid crystal molecules

Molecular modification engineering is an important pathway to develop novel multifunctional materials. In this work, we designed and synthesized compounds nN-1, nSN, nFN and nFSN to study the fluorination effect on the mesomorphic and photovoltaic performance of rod-like liquid crystal (LC) molecules. Their chemical structures were confirmed, and the instruments of differential scanning calorimetry and polarising optical microscopy were employed to investigate their mesomorphic properties. Their photovoltaic performance was assessed using dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Meanwhile, experimental results were explained by using molecular steric configuration, frontier orbital and dipole moment from DFT calculations. Research results indicate that the fluorination not only decreases the melting points and enhances the nematic phase temperature ranges, but also effectively improves molar extinction coefficients, further increasing photocurrent density and achieving higher efficiency. This study provides a scientific basis and experimental data for molecular engineering strategies to conduct bifunctional materials combining the excellent properties of LCs and dye sensitizers.

Hierarchical porous carbon nanoarchitectonics with honeycomb-like and N, P co-doped features for flexible symmetric supercapacitors and high-efficiency dye removal

In this study, we prepared a variety of hierarchical porous carbon (NPy-HPC) nanoarchitectonics with honeycomb-like and nitrogen‑phosphorus co-doping features utilizing a combination of self-doping and external doping ways to maximally improve the properties of biomass-derived porous carbon. The as-obtained NP1.0-HPC possesses an appropriate heteroatom content (3.15 at.% for nitrogen and 0.3 at.% for phosphorous), high specific surface area of 2141 m2 g−1 and total pore volume of 1.04 cm3 g−1, making it a potentially bifunctional material for electrochemical energy storage and dye removal applications. The free-standing NP1.0-HPC electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with a high specific capacitance of 378.8 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a good rate capability of 271.6 F g−1 when increasing the current density to 20 A g−1. The NP1.0-HPC//NP1.0-HPC symmetrical supercapacitor as well displays a desirable energy density of 17.7 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 440 W kg−1. Besides, NP1.0-HPC shows well removal capability for various kinds of dyes, among which the cationic dye methylene blue and the anionic dye methyl orange with the uptake of 666.9 and 360.9 mg g−1, respectively. Our work proposes a facile and cost-effective strategy for the exploration and development of superior performance controllable three-dimensional (3D) laminated porous carbon nanoarchitectonics.

Confined self-assembly of S, O co-doped GCN short nanotubes/EG composite towards HMIs electrochemical detection and removal

In this paper, we prepared composites by confining S, O co-doped C3N4 short nanotubes (SOT) into the slit holes of expanded graphite (EG). The prepared SOT/EG composites had hierarchical pores. Macroporous and mesoporous were conducive to the permeation of heavy metal ions (HMIs) solution, while microporous were favorable for HMIs capture. In addition, EG had excellent adsorption and conductive properties. By leveraging their synergistic effect, SOT/EG composites could be used for electrochemical detection and removal of HMIs simultaneously. The excellent HMIs electrochemical detection and removal performances were due to the unique 3D microstructure and the increase of active sites such as S and O. When SOT/EG composites were prepared into modified electrodes, the limit of detections (LODs) of Pb2+ and Hg2+ were 0.038 and 0.051 μg L−1 for simultaneous detection and 0.045 and 0.057 μg L−1 for individual detection. When SOT/EG composites were used as adsorbents, the equilibrium adsorption capacity of Pb2+ and Hg2+ solution of 10 mg L−1 could reach 228.0 and 313.1 mg g−1, and the adsorption efficiency was above 90%. Due to the low raw materials cost and simple preparation method, SOT/EG composite is a very promising bifunctional material for HMIs electrochemical detection and removal.

Self-assembled hollow bowl-shaped metal-organic framework-derived electromagnetic wave absorbers with strong anti-microbiologically influenced corrosion performance

The electromagnetic wave absorbers widely applied to various harsh scenes, especially with anti-corrosion properties have been reported and the focus was at the anti-inorganic corrosion. However, the organic corrosion, such as microbiologically influenced corrosion is also serious and needs to be overcome. Herein, based on the excellent electromagnetic synergy effect, a series of cobalt-based metal-organic framework-derived composites with hollow bowl-shape were synthesized. By modulating the balance between the dielectric and magnetic loss, the minimum reflection loss of − 52.66 dB with matching thickness of 2.7 mm and an ultra-wide effective absorption bandwidth of 6.8 GHz, which covered the whole Ku band, with a thickness of 2.4 mm, were achieved. In addition, the radar cross section values of the composites were simulated and the results verify the excellent absorption performances of the absorbers. Combining the prominent absorption performance, the derived composites exhibited exceptional anti-microbiologically influenced corrosion properties reflected by the electrochemical impedance modulus at 0.01 Hz substantially increasing more than 3 times. Until now, no similar bifunctional materials have been reported, so it is of great significance and emergence to fill this gap, we hope our work can provide a theoretical basis for the following related experimental research.

Regulation the electrocatalytic performance of Ni-MOF derived material by extending the organic ligand

The overuse of fossil fuels has accelerated the desire for clean energy. Hydrogen energy has become an important energy on the world energy stage in the 21st century. Hydrogen production technology has also become the focus of attention. Based on the previous reported Ni-bib (bib ​= ​1,4-bis(1H-imidazole-1-yl) benzene), Ni-bibp (bibp ​= ​4,4′-bi(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-1,1′-biphenyl) with longer ligand was designed and synthesized by solvothermal method. Its molecular formula is {[Ni4(bibp)4(SO42−)4(H2O)8]}n. Ni-bibp-900 derived from high temperature pyrolysis can be used as bi-functional electrode material for HER (hydrogen evolution reaction) and UOR (urea oxidation reaction). For HER, the overpotential is −297mV at a current density of 10 ​mA ​cm−2. The Tafel slope of the Ni-bibp-900 is 153.3 ​mV·dec−1. For UOR, the overpotential is 1.4 ​V when the current density is 10 ​mA ​cm−2. The Tafel slope of the Ni-bibp-900 is 97.53 ​mV·dec−1. The performance of UOR and HER is better than that of Ni-bib-T. In addition, we also studied the effect of different doping amounts of zinc ions on HER. The results show that the HER performance is improved after doping zinc ion, which may be attributed to the sublimation of zinc ions during the pyrolysis process.

Nanoscale transition metal catalysts anchored on perovskite oxide enabling enhanced kinetics of lithium polysulfide redox in lithium-sulfur batteries

To obtain high-performance lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, it is necessary to rationally design electrocatalytic materials that can promote efficient sulfur electrochemical reactions. Herein, the robust heterostructured material of nanoscale transition metal anchored on perovskite oxide was designed for efficient catalytic kinetics of the oxidation and reduction reactions of lithium polysulphide (LiPSs), and verified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental characterizations. Due to the strong interaction of nanoscale transition metals with LiPSs through chemical coupling, heterostructured materials (STO@M) (M = Fe, Ni, Cu) exhibit excellent catalytic activity for redox reactions of LiPSs. The bifunctional heterostructure material STO@Fe exhibits good rate performance and cycling stability as the cathode host, realizing a high-performance Li-S battery that can maintain stable cycling under rapid charge–discharge cycling. This study presents a novel approach to designing electrocatalytic materials for redox reactions of LiPSs, which promotes the development of fast charge–discharge Li-S batteries.

Porous graphitized carbon-supported FeOCl as a bifunctional adsorbent-catalyst for the wet peroxide oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds: Effect of mesopores and mechanistic study

Wet scrubbing coupled with adsorption-enhanced heterogeneous advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are promising approaches to the treatment of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). However, microporous activated carbon-based adsorbents and catalyst supports have the disadvantage of difficult molecule diffusion. Herein, we have demonstrated that porous graphitized carbon (PGC) allowed faster intra-particle diffusion of organic molecules due to its well-developed mesoporous structure. Therefore, a wet scrubbing system containing H2O2 and a PGC-supported FeOCl catalyst has been developed to effectively remove gaseous dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, dichloromethane and chlorobenzene. The scrubber performed well at pH 3.0 using a FeOCl/PGC dosage of 0.2 g/L and initial H2O2 concentration of 40 mM. Its good long-term performance was achieved by replenishing H2O2 to maintain a suitable concentration. The degradation pathways of dichloroethane have been proposed using a combination of intermediate analysis and density functional theory calculations. PGC-supported catalysts may be desirable bifunctional adsorbent-catalyst materials for wet scrubbing of CVOCs.

Fabrication of recyclable UiO-66-NH2/PVDF hybrid fibrous membrane for Cr(VI) removal in wastewater

Efficient and recyclable water treatment technology plays a vital role in practical application of Cr(Ⅵ) removal. Zr-based metal–organic framework (UiO-66-NH2) is widely used in wastewater treatment due to its water stability. Powdery UiO-66-NH2 has disadvantages of easy aggregation, reclamation difficulty and secondary pollution. In this work, UiO-66-NH2 was successfully loaded on electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers by in-situ growth to achieve efficient adsorption and photoreduction of Cr(Ⅵ). Grooved surface of PVDF fibers and truncated octahedron shape of UiO-66-NH2 ensured the loading uniformity and firmness. The loading rate and size of UiO-66-NH2 crystals increased with the amount of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the preparation process. Meantime, the introduction of TFA in synthesis was conducive to the separation efficiency of photogenerated carries. When the addition amount of TFA was 5 ml, UiO-PVDF-3 with loading rate of 44.8% exhibited best Cr(VI) adsorption and photocatalysis performance. For the pure adsorption process, the adsorption capacity of UiO-PVDF-3 at 90 min was 3.76 mg/cm2, and the corresponding removal rate was 95.8%. When visible light was applied, the Cr(VI) removal rate for UiO-PVDF-3 reached to about 95.0% at 45 min. Furthermore, regeneration experiments showed UiO-PVDF-3 had excellent adsorption and photocatalysis reusability. Based on this method, synthesized UiO-66-NH2/PVDF hybrid membrane as a bifunctional material for adsorption and photocatalysis realizes the reuse of UiO-66-NH2 crystals conveniently and avoids secondary pollution during Cr(VI) wastewater treatment.

Electronic structure reconfiguration of nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxide nanoflakes via engineered heteroatom and oxygen-vacancies defect for efficient electrochemical water splitting

The development of earth-abundant and high-efficiency bifunctional electrocatalysts is extremely desirable for electrochemical water splitting, but there are some critical challenges that need to be addressed. The coordinated tailoring of electronic structure and Bader charge transference by heteroatom doping and oxygen vacancy defects are one of the strongest tactics to enhance the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER and HER) of catalysts. Herein, a novel Mo-decorated nickel–cobalt layered double hydroxides 3D honeycomb nanoflake on Ni foam (labeled as Mo-NiCo LDHs(Vo)) as bifunctional electrode materials with enriched oxygen vacancy defects, excellent geometric stability, and enriched active sites was successfully fabricated through a facile hydrothermal reaction strategy. Density functional theory computations and experimental results confirmed that the electrocatalytic intrinsic activity of Mo-NiCo LDHs(Vo) was optimized not only because of the provision of new active sites by the Mo dopants via the construction of defects and oxygen vacancies but also because of the activation of the local electronic structures of the surrounding Ni and Co sites. Consequently, Mo-NiCo LDHs(Vo) exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic performance with an overpotential of 258 mV for OER and 194 mV for HER at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 in an alkaline medium. In addition, the catalyst exhibited excellent long-term stability after 100 h of use as a bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting. This work provides a facile means to fabricate superior, efficient noble metal-free catalysts with well-designed defects at the atomic-level using electronic structure engineering for energy-related applications.

One-step laser ablation synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles with carbon coating for tribological applications

Among different materials able to reduce wear and friction in tribological couplings, there are lubricant nanofluids obtained by dispersing suitable nanoparticles into a host fluid. Carbon-based nanomaterials are known to be effective additives, but their efficiency can be further improved by combination with magnetic compounds. Unfortunately, the preparation of such bifunctional materials often require complex syntheses or need post-synthesis functionalization processes, thus increasing costs and reducing reliability. Herein, a simple and cost-effective one-step synthesis method, based on laser ablation in solution, is used to produce magnetic responsive nanoparticles surrounded by a carbon matrix to be exploited as lubricating additives. The lubricating colloidal solutions are thus easily obtained without the use of surfactants nor multi-step processes, which can contaminate the final product or increase production costs. They exhibit a very good stability and reduce the wear coefficient of almost 50% in presence of an applied magnetic field in respect to the base fluid alone. The importance of the presence of the carbon matrix surrounding the magnetic core to develop a positive tribological behaviour has been proved.

Nitrogen Doped Porous Biochar/β-CD-MOFs Heterostructures: Bi-Functional Material for Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Detection and Removal of Acetaminophen.

Acetaminophen (AC) is one of the most common over-the-counter drugs, and its pollutant in groundwater has attracted more attention due to its serious risk to human health. Currently, the research on AC is mainly focused on its detection, but few are concerned about its removal. In this work, for the first time, nitrogen-doped Soulangeana sepals derived biochar/β-cyclodextrin-Metal-organic frameworks (N-SC/β-CD-MOFs) composite was proposed for the simultaneous efficient removal and detection of AC. N-SC/β-CD-MOFs combined the properties of host-guest recognition of β-CD-MOFs and porous structure, high porosity, and large surface area of N-SC. Their synergies endowed N-SC/β-CD-MOFs with a high adsorption capacity toward AC, which was up to 66.43 mg/g. The adsorption type of AC on the surface of N-SC/β-CD-MOFs conformed to the Langmuir adsorption model, and the study of the adsorption mechanism showed that AC adsorption on N-SC was mainly achieved through hydrogen bonding. In addition, the high conductivity, large specific surface area and abundant active sites of N-SC/β-CD-MOFs were of great significance to the high-performance detection of AC. Accordingly, the sensor prepared with N-SC/β-CD-MOFs presented a wide linear range (1.0-30.0 μM) and a low limit of detection of 0.3 nM (S/N = 3). These excellent performances demonstrate that N-SC/β-CD-MOFs could act as an efficient dual-functional material for the detection and removal of AC.

The structure analysis and chemical properties probing during recycling processes of transition metal dichalcogenides exfoliation

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much attention in electrochemistry due to their outstanding properties; however, there is a limit to the production of TMDs samples on a large scale. In this work, we have demonstrated the recycling process of TMDs materials using WSe2 as a representative of the TMDs family. WSe2 nanoflakes were synthesised by solvent-assisted liquid phase exfoliation through sonication of “bulk” WSe2. It has been found that the unexfoliated WSe2 can be recycled up to 6 times, this improve the production yield. The physical and chemical properties of the exfoliated WSe2 nanoflakes were investigated during the recycling processes. Interestingly, the recycling processes (number of recycling times) directly affect the flake sizes, and surface chemistry of the exfoliated samples. The obtained flake size decreases from about 1 μm to less than 200 nm (from 1st to 7th exfoliation), the diminished of sample thickness has also been found. Besides, the local structure of WSe2 remains unchanged, showing the W4+ oxidation state of WSe2, which to the best of our knowledge. The applicability of the as-recycled samples were then demonstrated as bi-functional electrode materials: (i) supercapacitor, (ii) and electrocatalyst (for hydrogen evolution reaction). From 1st to 7th exfoliation, the electrochemical performance improves about 1-fold (capacitance increase from 3 to 6 F g−1, and the overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 improves from -0.67 to -0.42 vs. RHE). This study provides an alternative way to improve the synthesis method, which can not only utilise “waste” but also recover the production yield of TMDs leading to the continued development of 2D materials, and related families.

A two-dimensional nickel-doped bismuth-layered double hydroxide structure as a bifunctional efficient electrode material for symmetric supercapacitors.

There has been an increasing demand for the development of low-cost and environmentally friendly two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure materials for energy storage and conversion systems due to their superior chemical and physical properties. This study reports a direct and feasible hydrothermal approach to synthesize nickel-doped bismuth-layered double hydroxide as a 2D heterostructure bifunctional electrode material (acts as anode and cathode) for symmetric supercapacitors. The designed electrode can work within a wide and efficient operating potential window, delivering a specific capacity of 450C g−1 at 1 A g−1 and an outstanding cycling performance with 93% capacity retention being stable after 3000 cycles. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric supercapacitor delivers significant specific energy of 43 Wh kg−1 at a specific power of 725 W kg−1. These results are among the superior symmetric supercapacitors reported previously, indicating a potential strategy for designing efficient symmetric supercapacitors for real-life applications.

Kirkendall effect induced NiFe: WS2 core-shell nanocubes for Dye-sensitized solar cell and battery-type Supercapacitor applications

In the view of developing bi-functional electrode material for integrated electronic devices, the efficient NiFe: WS2 core-shell nanocube electrode was designed for Dye-sensitized Solar cells and Supercapacitor applications. In this work, NiFe: WS2 core-shelled nanocubes were obtained with the assistance of the Kirkendall effect under probe sonication techniques. The NiFe: WS2–2 as counter electrode in Dye-sensitized solar cells yields a power conversion efficiency of 6.4 %, which is higher than bare NiFe (1.5 %) and Platinum counter electrode (4.1 %). Whereas in Supercapacitors, NiFe: WS2–2 showed a remarkable specific capacitance performance of 670.37 F/g, at a Current density of 1 A/g, and demonstrated capacitance retention of 90.05 %, over 5000 cycles. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor device exhibits an energy density of 56.4 Wh/kg and a power density of 1015 W/kg, at 1 A/g current density. The constructed NiFe: WS2–2//AC device exhibits capacitance retention and coulombic efficiency of 82.60 % and 97.36 %, respectively in the stability test after 6000 cycles. The above fascinating results emphasize that core-shell structured NiFe: WS2–2 is a promising electrode for Dye-sensitized solar cells and Supercapacitor application, thereby paving the way for advancement in hi-tech electronic devices.

Construction adsorption and photocatalytic interfaces between C, O co-doped BN and Pd-Cu alloy nanocrystals for effective conversion of CO2 to CO

Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels is an auspicious route to alleviate the energy and environmental crisis brought by the continuous depletion of fossil fuels. The CO2 adsorption state on the surface of photocatalytic materials plays a significant role in its efficient conversion. The limited CO2 adsorption capacity of conventional semiconductor materials inhibit their photocatalytic performances. In this work, a bifunctional material for CO2 capture and photocatalytic reduction was fabricated by introducing palladium (Pd)-copper (Cu) alloy nanocrystals onto the surface of carbon, oxygen co-doped boron nitride (BN). The elemental doped BN with abundant ultra-micropores had high CO2 capture ability, and CO2 was adsorbed in the form of bicarbonate on its surface with the presence of water vapor. The Pd/Cu molar ratio had great impact on the grain size of Pd-Cu alloy and their distribution on BN. The CO2 molecules tended to be converted to carbon monoxide (CO) at interfaces of BN and Pd-Cu alloys due to their bidirectional interactions to the adsorbed intermediate species while methane (CH4) evolution might occur on the surface of Pd-Cu alloys. Owing to the uniform distribution of smaller Pd-Cu nanocrystals on BN, more effective interfaces were created in the Pd5Cu1/BN sample and it gave a CO production rate of 7.74 μmolg−1h−1 under simulated solar light irradiation, higher than the other PdCu/BN composites. This work can pave a new way for constructing effective bifunctional photo-catalysts with high selectivity to convert CO2 to CO.

Constructed TiO 2/WO 3 heterojunction with strengthened nano-trees structure for highly stable electrochromic energy storage device

Tungsten trioxide (WO₃) has been widely regarded as a prospective bifunctional material due to its electrochromic and pseudocapacitive properties, while still facing the dilemma of inadequate cycle stability and trapping-induced degradation. Here, inspired by the trees-strengthening approach, a unique titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanorod arrays strengthened WO₃ nano-trees (TWNTs) heterojunction was rationally designed and constructed. In sharp contrast to the transmittance modulation (Δ<i>T</i>) attenuation of primary WO₃ nano-trees during cycling, the TWNTs film showed not only excellent electrochromic performance but also fascinating cycle stability (77.35% retention of the initial Δ<i>T</i> after 10,000 cycles). Besides, the trapping-induced degradation could be easily rejuvenated by a potentiostatic de-trapping process. An electrochromic energy storage device (EESD) was further assembled based on the TWNTs film to deliver excellent Δ<i>T</i> (up to 79.5% at 633 nm), fast switching speed (<i>t</i>_c/<i>t</i>_b =1.9 s/14.8 s), extremely high coloration efficiency value (443.4 cm²·C⁻¹), and long-term cycle stability (over 10,000 charge/discharge cycles). This innovative study provided in-depth insights into the electrochromism nature and a significant step in the realization of stable electrochromic-energy storage application, paving the way for multifunctional smart windows as well as next-generation optoelectronic devices.

Bifunctional Supertetrahedral Chalcogenolate Cluster-Based Assembly Materials Constructed by a Photoactive Ligand.

The assembly of supertetrahedral chalcogenolate clusters (SCCs) and multifunctional organic linkers could lead to the formation of tunable structures and synergistic properties. Two SCC-based assembled materials (SCCAM-1 and -2) constructed by a triangular chromophore ligand, tris(4-pyridylphenyl)amine, were successfully synthesized and characterized. The SCCAMs demonstrate unusually long-lived afterglow at low temperatures (83 K) and efficient activities for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dye in water.

Enhancing solar energy harvest by Cu2S/CuCl heteroarrays with enriched sulfur vacancies for photo-rechargeable pseudocapacitors

The use of broadband light energy is important for enhancing photoenergy conversion. However, bifunctional materials that can efficiently harvest solar energy to assist electrochemical energy storage are difficult to prepare. Herein, copper foam (CF)-supported cuprous sulfide (Cu2S) heteroarrays (CS HAs) with enriched sulfur (S) vacancies (VS) were designed for photo-rechargeable pseudocapacitors. A direct hydrothermal sulfurization of CF first resulted in the growth of CS HAs with leaf-like heterostructures. Subsequent partial oxidation of S2− in FeCl3 aqueous solution enriched the VS within the leaf-like structures. In addition, CuCl and Cu2O were formed from Cu2S during FeCl3 treatment to derive a bifunctional photoelectrode with ternary components, thus further broadening the light absorption region. Thus, the optimal CS HAs have demonstrated areal capacitances of 1440−1048 mF cm−2 with the assistance of the photoelectric/thermal effects of light energy, delivering remarkable photoenhancements of 25%–35%. The asymmetrical pseudocapacitors fabricated from the optimal photoelectrodes delivered a high areal capacitance of 670 mF cm−2 after 6000 cycles, suggesting a promising application in transparent light-driven energy devices.

Sorption-enhanced steam gasification of biomass for H2-rich gas production and in-situ CO2 capture by CaO-based sorbents: A critical review

The sorption-enhanced steam gasification of biomass (SEBSG) is considered a prospective thermo-chemical technology for high-purity H2 production with in-situ CO2 capture. Fundamental concepts and operating conditions of SEBSG technology were summarized in this review. Considerable industrial demonstration units have been conducted on pilot scales for large-scale availability of the SEBSG process. The influence of process parameters such as reaction temperature, Steam/Biomass (S/B) ratio, feedstock characteristics, cyclic CO2 capture capacity of CaO-based sorbents, and catalysis, were critically reviewed to provide theoretical recommendations for industrial operation. Bifunctional materials that have high catalytic activity and CO2 capture activity are crucial for ensuring high H2 production in the SEBSG. The application of density functional theory (DFT) and reactive force field molecular dynamic (ReaxFF MD) simulations on microcosmic reaction mechanisms in the SEBSG process, such as pyrolysis, WGS and reforming reactions, and CO2 capture of CaO-based materials are comprehensively overviewed. Several research gaps, like the exploitation of more efficient and low-cost bifunctional material, integrated process economics and revelation of well-rounded mechanisms, need to be filled for the following large-scale industrial applications.

Cellulose-Graphene Bifunctional Paper Conservation Materials: For Reinforcement and UV Aging Protection

Paper artifacts have unique cultural and historical values. However, over time, many paper artifacts appear with disease characteristics such as embrittlement and photoaging, losing the most fundamental function of the literature archive. The reinforcement handling of degraded paper artifacts is, therefore, a necessary measure to extend their service life, the key to which lies in the reinforcement and prevention of photoaging. This paper intended to use graphene oxide (GO) as a UV protective agent, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a reinforcement, and polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a modifier. In this work, the amino-modified graphene oxide carboxymethyl cellulose composite (CMC-aGO) was prepared by chemical modification, which was used as bifunctional paper protection material with anti-ultraviolet and reinforcement. It showed excellent performance in both tensile strength testing and UV resistance testing. The CMC-aGO raw material is low cost, colorless, transparent, simple to synthesize, convenient to operate, and is an excellent conservation material with dual functions of UV aging protection and paper reinforcement.