02253nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001400041245011800055210006900173260000900242300001200251490000800263520137900271653002701650653002301677653001401700653002401714653002401738100001901762700002101781700002701802700002401829700001401853856013201867 2019 eng d a0013-468600aStudies on nano composites of SPEEK/ethylene glycol/cellulose nanocrystals as promising proton exchange membranes0 aStudies on nano composites of SPEEKethylene glycolcellulose nano cJAN  a260-2720 v2933 a

The present work deals with fabrication and characterisations of nano-composite membranes composed of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) cross-linked and reinforced with ethylene glycol (EG) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) respectively. The thin films of cross-linked composite membranes were prepared by solvent casting method and further analysed for physicochemical and electrochemical properties to execute their applicability as promising proton exchange membrane (PEM) in fuel cells. The process of cross-linking helps to improve the strength and dimensional stability of bare SPEEK membranes without compromising with conductivity. However, presence of CNCs further improves the strength and provides an effective pathway for the conduction of protons in membranes by interacting through their surface hydroxyl and sulfonic acid groups with ionic moieties of polymer matrix. All prepared composite membranes showed good oxidative and thermal stability along with good proton conductivity. The cross-linked SPEEK membranes with 4 wt% loading of CNCs possess an appreciable proton conductivity of 0.186 S/cm at 95 degrees C and 95% RH which is comparable to Nafion 117. From the view point of above studies, the prepared nano-composite can be described as promising proton exchange membrane for fuel cells. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

10aCellulose nanocrystals10aCross-linked SPEEK10afuel cell10aoxidative stability10aproton conductivity1 aBano, Saleheen1 aNegi, Yuvraj, S.1 aIllathvalappil, Rajith1 aKurungot, Sreekumar1 aRamya, K. uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/studies-nano-composites-speekethylene-glycolcellulose-nanocrystals-promising-proton-exchange02152nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001400041245015200055210006900207260000800276300001400284490000700298520126500305653001201570653001601582653002701598653002201625653002101647100001501668700001801683700001701701700002701718700003101745856012201776 2021 eng d a0969-023900aElastic piezoelectric aerogels from isotropic and directionally ice-templated cellulose nanocrystals: comparison of structure and energy harvesting0 aElastic piezoelectric aerogels from isotropic and directionally  cJUL a6323-63370 v283 a

We report the preparation of highly compressible and elastic piezoelectric aerogels of carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Aqueous CNC dispersions containing polyethyleneimine and crosslinker were frozen isotropically to yield isotropic aerogels, while oriented aerogels were prepared by directional freezing. These aerogels were highly flexible and porous (similar to 85% void fraction), exhibiting greater than 90% recovery at 50% compressive strain even after 100 compression-decompression cycles. Since such aerogels with low bulk modulus and high anisotropy would be an ideal platform for leveraging the piezoelectric properties of CNCs, we used them to prepare piezoelectric nanogenerator devices and determined their energy transduction behavior. Anisotropic aerogels led to an enhanced open-circuit voltage of 840 mV (at similar to 8 N applied force), which is over 2.6 times higher than isotropic aerogels (320 mV). The energy density of anisotropic aerogels was around 52 nW/cm(2), representing outstanding piezoelectric performance for cellulose-based aerogels. Such aerogels with high compressibility, elastic recovery and exceptional piezoelectric performance could have potential applications in sensors, wearable electronics, etc.

10aAerogel10aAnisotropic10aCellulose nanocrystals10aenergy harvesting10aPiezoelectricity1 aRam, Farsa1 aBiswas, Bipul1 aTorris, Arun1 aKumaraswamy, Guruswamy1 aShanmuganathan, Kadhiravan uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/elastic-piezoelectric-aerogels-isotropic-and-directionally-ice-templated-cellulose02255nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001400041245011700055210006900172260000900241300001100250490000800261520133500269653001201604653002701616653002901643653002001672653002301692100001701715700002201732700001801754700002001772700001901792700001901811700002101830856012601851 2022 eng d a0167-732200aElliptically birefringent chemically tuned liquid crystalline nanocellulose composites for photonic applications0 aElliptically birefringent chemically tuned liquid crystalline na cNOV  a1203260 v3663 a

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) based photonic materials are one of the promising materials in the recent trends. The liquid crystalline behavior of the CNCs can be tailored to different advanced applications. The proposed research investigates the potential of CNCs as an optically active material. CNCs were tuned to hydroxypropyl nano cellulose (HPNC) with the degree of substitution 1.39. The prepared liquid crystalline HPNC were dispersed in various concentrations of monomethyl ether of polyethylene glycol to get waterborne materials with specific optical anisotropy. The extraction, modification, and morphology of the CNCs were investigated using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), XRD (X-ray Powder Diffraction), and FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) analysis. The prepared HPNC was analyzed using a hot stage POM (Polarized Optical Microscope) for optical anisotropy. The thermal stability of prepared CNCs and HPNC was also investigated. Upon optimization using rheology and POM, it was found that at the ratio of 1:1, HPNC (5 wt%) and mPEG (40 wt%) had the most distinct optical properties. The potential of the prepared materials can be further explored in sensing, smart coating, and security materials. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

10abagasse10aCellulose nanocrystals10aElliptical birefringence10aliquid crystals10aoptical anisotropy1 aSingh, Shiva1 aBhardwaj, Shakshi1 aVerma, Chhavi1 aChhajed, Monika1 aBalayan, Kajal1 aGhosh, Kaushik1 aMaji, Pradip, K. uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/elliptically-birefringent-chemically-tuned-liquid-crystalline-nanocellulose-composites02076nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001400041245012100055210006900176260000800245300001100253490000800264520114900272653001001421653001401431653002701445653001601472653003001488100002901518700001801547700002101565700002701586700002001613700002401633700001701657856012401674 2022 eng d a0144-861700aTailored synthesis of ultra-stable Au@Pd nanoflowers with enhanced catalytic properties using cellulose nanocrystals0 aTailored synthesis of ultrastable AuPd nanoflowers with enhanced cSEP a1197230 v2923 a

A green strategy for the synthesis of bimetallic core-shell Au@Pd nanoflowers (NFs) employing banana pseudostem-derived TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TCNC) as both capping and shape-directing agent via seed-mediated method is presented. Flower-like nanostructures of Au@Pd bound to TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TCNC-Au@Pd) were decorated on amino-functionalized graphene (NH2-RGO) without losing their unique structure, allowing them to be deployed as an efficient, reusable and a green alternative heterogeneous catalyst. The decisive role of TCNC in the structural metamorphosis of nanoparticle morphology were inferred from the structural and morphology analyses. According to our study, the presence of -OH rich TCNC appears to play a pivotal role in the structured evolution of intricate nanostructure morphology. The feasibility of the bio-supported catalyst has been investigated in two concurrently prevalent model catalytic reactions, namely the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, the best model reactions in fuel cell and industrial catalytic applications, respectively.

10aAu@Pd10acatalysis10aCellulose nanocrystals10aNanoflowers10aoxygen reduction reaction1 aHakkeem, Hasna, M. Abdul1 aBabu, Aswathy1 aShilpa, Nagaraju1 aVenugopal, Adithya, A.1 aMohamed, A., P.1 aKurungot, Sreekumar1 aPillai, Saju uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/tailored-synthesis-ultra-stable-aupd-nanoflowers-enhanced-catalytic-properties-using