(643b) High-Performance Nanofibers and Nanostructures for New Generation Multifunctional Materials

The recent interest in nanotechnology has triggered in nanofibers and nanostructures. We present our work on fiber-based multifunctional materials including nanofibers obtained via electrospinning techniques. Such nanofibers are of potential value given the highly porous structures they form and their large surface to volume ratios which are often required in high-performance applications. Electrospun lignin blends were used to form single nanofibers that after proper thermal treatment became carbon nanofibers and nanotubes. We investigated the reinforcement efficiency of the obtained carbon nanofibers. In spite of its abundance, the utilization of cellulose as a component in microcomposites is largely unexplored. Therefore we also present our research on cellulose-based microstructures that may offer unique opportunities due to its high stiffness and strength as well as the possibility of subsequent surface chemical modification. Our studies involved first the isolation of cellulose whiskers from paper followed by the incorporation of cellulose whiskers in hydrophobic polymer matrices in order to tailor the functionalities and properties of the resulting composites. Cellulose filled polymer matrices were casted as composite films and electrospun webs which were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM).