Sustainable High-Performance Structural Materials from Micro/nanostructured Corn Stover
Song Xie1, Kun-Peng Yang1, Zi-Meng Han1
1Department of Chemistry, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
Abstract:
Corn stover, as an abundant agricultural residue, has not been well reutilized due to the lack of efficient utilization methods. Based on micro/nanoscale structure design of corn stover, we report an environmentally friendly strategy to prepare micro/nanostructured corn stover-based building blocks. Then, through the directed deformation assembly approach, a high value-added corn stover structural material (CSSM) that with higher strength and more excellent thermal stability than most widely used plastics and wood-plastic composites can be prepared. The entire production process is green and economical, and the life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicate that it is a low-carbon emission, sustainable material. Moreover, CSSM can be composed with nanoscale building blocks to achieve multifunctionality. For example, by incorporating carbon nanotubes, we prepare a corn stover structural material with Joule-heating effects for indoor thermal management. This broadens the range of applications for corn stover-based structural materials.
