(327b) Polysaccharide Materials and Characterizations for Sustainable Applications

Development and utilization of renewable feedstocks is crucial when addressing sustainability in advanced material development. Renewable macromolecular nanomaterials (RMNs), also referred to biopolymers, are macromolecules (1-10 nm) produced from natural resources such as plant and microorganisms. Although they have been considered sustainable alternatives of petroleum-based plastics, a lack of deep understanding of the molecular interactions of RMNs and their behaviors in processing has limited their application in large scale manufacturing. The functionality of RMN molecules, such as charge or reactive chemical moieties, governs their inter- and intramolecular interactions. These functionalities are critical in the process of assembling molecules into a complicated structure and appearing as mesoscale material, carrying its unique macroscale properties and functions. These features also offer opportunities for hierarchical material formation from RMNs outside biological systems based on principles of chemistry which can be used in applications for energy, environment, and medical fields.

This talk will first demonstrate few previous works of using polysaccharides materials for applications such as carbon capture and sustainable formulations. For example, we developed a bioactive coating on polysaccharide support, and the material functioned as an efficient gas-liquid-solid contactor from which the CO₂ capture efficiency was improved by 10-40 times compared to conventional packing material such as Raschig rings. Moreover, the modification of functional groups in polysaccharides resulted in tailored molecular interactions, thus improving the material performance in the application. Therefore, the second part of the presentation will focus on fundamental studies of molecular interactions of polysaccharide-based materials using methods such as scattering and Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), to study the structure of molecular complexes and thermodynamics of the molecular complex, respectively. Last but not least, because there are challenges of using Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), here at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we are developing deuterated polysaccharides as model systems for structure and dynamic studies using neutron techniques.