Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA.
Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 2;14(1):1203. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36783-8.
Large numbers of leaves fall on the earth each autumn. The current treatments of dead leaves mainly involve completely destroying the biocomponents, which causes considerable energy consumption and environmental issues. It remains a challenge to convert waste leaves into useful materials without breaking down their biocomponents. Here, we turn red maple dead leaves into an active three-component multifunctional material by exploiting the role of whewellite biomineral for binding lignin and cellulose. Owing to its intense optical absorption spanning the full solar spectrum and the heterogeneous architecture for effective charge separation, films of this material show high performance in solar water evaporation, photocatalytic hydrogen production, and photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics. Furthermore, it also acts as a bioplastic with high mechanical strength, high-temperature tolerance, and biodegradable features. These findings pave the way for the efficient utilization of waste biomass and innovations of advanced materials.
每年秋天，大量的树叶都会落在地上。目前处理落叶的方法主要是将其生物成分完全破坏，这会导致大量的能源消耗和环境问题。如何在不破坏其生物成分的情况下，将废叶转化为有用的材料，仍然是一个挑战。在这里，我们通过利用冬凌草生物矿化作用来结合木质素和纤维素，将红枫落叶转化为具有活性的三组分多功能材料。由于其在全太阳光谱范围内强烈的光吸收和用于有效电荷分离的非均相结构，该材料的薄膜在太阳能蒸发、光催化制氢和光催化抗生素降解方面表现出了很高的性能。此外，它还可用作具有高强度、耐高温和可生物降解等特点的生物塑料。这些发现为有效利用废生物质和创新先进材料铺平了道路。
