BioResource Processing Research Institute of Australia (BioPRIA), Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 2;8(1):2306. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-20569-w.
Novel water resistant photocatalytic composites of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)-polyamide-amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE)-TiO nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by a simple two-step mixing process. The composites produced are flexible, uniform, reproducible and reusable; they can readily be removed from the pollutant once used. Small amount of TiO NPs are required for the loaded composites to exhibit a remarkable photocatalytic activity which is quantified here as achieving at least 95% of methyl orange degradation under 150 min of UV light irradiation for the composite with best combination. The cellulose network combined with PAE strongly retains NPs and hinders their release in the environment. PAE dosage (10 and 50 mg/g MFC) controls the NP retention in the cellulose fibrous matrix. As TiO content increases, the photocatalytic activity of the composites levels off to a constant; this is reached at 2wt% TiO NPs for 10 mg/g PAE and 20wt% for 50 mg/g PAE. SEM and SAXS analysis confirms the uniform distribution of NPs and their formation of aggregates in the cellulose fibre network. These economical and water resistant photocatalytic paper composites made by a simple, robust and easily scalable process are ideal for applications such as waste water treatment where efficiency, reusability and recyclability are important.
采用简单的两步混合工艺制备了具有微纤化纤维素（MFC）-聚酰胺-胺-表氯醇（PAE）-TiO2 纳米颗粒（NPs）的新型耐水光催化复合材料。所制备的复合材料具有柔韧性、均匀性、重现性和可重复使用性；一旦使用，它们可以很容易地从污染物中去除。负载复合材料只需少量的 TiO2 NPs 即可表现出显著的光催化活性，在最佳组合的复合材料中，在 150 分钟的紫外光照射下，至少 95%的甲基橙降解即可定量达到。纤维素网络与 PAE 结合可强烈保留 NPs 并阻止其在环境中的释放。PAE 用量（10 和 50mg/g MFC）控制 NP 在纤维素纤维基质中的保留。随着 TiO2 含量的增加，复合材料的光催化活性趋于稳定；对于 10mg/g PAE，达到 2wt%TiO2 NPs，对于 50mg/g PAE，达到 20wt%TiO2 NPs。SEM 和 SAXS 分析证实了 NPs 在纤维素纤维网络中的均匀分布及其聚集的形成。这些通过简单、稳健且易于扩展的工艺制备的经济型和耐水光催化纸复合材料非常适合废水处理等应用，在这些应用中，效率、可重复使用性和可回收性很重要。
