Dielectrophoretic liquid lens driven by interdigitated sidewall electrodes.

This paper proposes a dielectrophoretic (DEP) liquid lens that is driven by interdigitated electrodes distributed on the sidewalls and has a structure similar to that of the electrowetting one produced by the company Corning. The interdigital electrodes are formed by winding double flexible wire electrodes wrapped in dielectric layers on the sidewall. Compared with the traditional planar electrode DEP lens, the proposed model ensures the stability of the optical axis of the liquid lens, simplifies the construction process of the interdigital electrode, realizes a continuous change in the focus from negative to positive, and reduces the response time. A truncated conical cavity dielectrophoretic liquid lens with an aperture of 5 mm is fabricated. When the voltage is 0-260 Vrms, it can reach shortest negative and positive focal lengths of -100 mm and 100 mm with a driving time of 190 ms and a relaxation time of 133 ms.

Piezoresistive Sensor Containing Lamellar MXene-Plant Fiber Sponge Obtained with Aqueous MXene Ink.

Sustainable biomass materials are promising for low-cost wearable piezoresistive pressure sensors, but these devices are still produced with time-consuming manufacturing processes and normally display low sensitivity and poor mechanical stability at low-pressure regimes. Here, an aqueous MXene ink obtained by simply ball-milling is developed as a conductive modifier to fabricate the multiresponsive bidirectional bending actuator and compressible MXene-plant fiber sponge (MX-PFS) for durable and wearable pressure sensors. The MX-PFS is fabricated by physically foaming MXene ink and plant fibers. It possesses a lamellar porous structure composed of one-dimensional (1D) MXene-coated plant fibers and two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanosheets, which significantly improves the compression capacity and elasticity. Consequently, the encapsulated piezoresistive sensor (PRS) exhibits large compressible strain (60%), excellent mechanical durability (10 000 cycles), low detection limit (20 Pa), high sensitivity (435.06 kPa-1), and rapid response time (40 ms) for practical wearable applications.

Nanomechanics of Lignin-Cellulase Interactions in Aqueous Solutions.

Efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in lignocellulose to glucose is one of the most critical steps for the production of biofuels. The nonproductive adsorption of lignin to expensive cellulase highly impedes the development of biorefinery. Understanding the lignin-cellulase interaction mechanism serves as a vital basis for reducing such nonproductive adsorption in their practical applications. Yet, limited report is available on the direct characterization of the lignin-cellulase interactions. Herein, for the first time, the nanomechanics of the biomacromolecules including lignin, cellulase, and cellulose were systematically investigated by using a surface force apparatus (SFA) at the nanoscale in aqueous solutions. Interestingly, a cation-π interaction was discovered and demonstrated between lignin and cellulase molecules through SFA measurements with the addition of different cations (Na+, K+, etc.). The complementary adsorption tests and theoretical calculations further confirmed the validity of the force measurement results. This finding further inspired the investigation of the interaction between lignin and other noncatalytic-hydrolysis protein (i.e., soy protein). Soy protein was demonstrated as an effective, biocompatible, and inexpensive lignin-blocker based on the molecular force measurements through the combined effects of electrostatic, cation-π, and hydrophobic interactions, which significantly improved the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiencies of cellulose in pretreated lignocellulosic substrates. Our results offer quantitative information on the fundamental understanding of the lignin-cellulase interaction mechanism. Such unraveled nanomechanics provides new insights into the development of advanced biotechnologies for addressing the nonproductive adsorption of lignin to cellulase, with great implications on improving the economics of lignocellulosic biorefinery.

Understanding the promoting effect of non-catalytic protein on enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of lignocelluloses.

Lignin deposits formed on the surface of pretreated lignocellulosic substrates during acidic pretreatments can non-productively adsorb costly enzymes and thereby influence the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose. In this article, peanut protein (PP), a biocompatible non-catalytic protein, was separated from defatted peanut flour (DPF) as a lignin blocking additive to overcome this adverse effect. With the addition of 2.5 g/L PP in enzymatic hydrolysis medium, the glucose yield of the bamboo substrate pretreated by phenylsulfonic acid (PSA) significantly increased from 38 to 94% at a low cellulase loading of 5 FPU/g glucan while achieving a similar glucose yield required a cellulase loading of 17.5 FPU/g glucan without PP addition. Similar promotion effects were also observed on the n-pentanol-pretreated bamboo and PSA-pretreated eucalyptus substrates. The promoting effect of PP on enzymatic hydrolysis was ascribed to blocking lignin deposits via hydrophobic and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions, which significantly reduced the non-productive adsorption of cellulase onto PSA lignin. Meanwhile, PP extraction also facilitated the utilization of residual DPF as the adhesive for producing plywood as compared to that without protein pre-extraction. This scheme provides a sustainable and viable way to improve the value of woody and agriculture biomass. Peanut protein, a biocompatible non-catalytic protein, can block lignin, improve enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and thereby facilitate the economics of biorefinery.

Improved wet shear strength in eco-friendly starch-cellulosic adhesives for woody composites.

Development of eco-friendly adhesives from renewable biomass has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Here, we present a novel approach via combination of waste newspaper (WNP) powder, oxidized glutinous rice starch, and polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) to prepare a formaldehyde-free starch-cellulosic adhesive (SCA) for woody composites. The oxidation treatment made the carboxyl/carbonyl groups more available in starch. Plywood bonded by the optimum SCA with 50 wt% of the WNP powder showed a wet shear strength of 0.83 MPa exceeding that of the oxidized starch adhesive by 130.5 %. During the curing process of SCA, the oxidized starch and WNP fiber participated into the crosslinking reaction with PAE via ester and ether bonds, as evidenced by FTIR analysis. The resulting cured adhesive had enhanced crystalline structures, thermal properties, hydrophobicity, wet-cohesion, rheological properties, and adhesiveness to wood. The SCA showed great potential in wood composites as an alternative to formaldehyde-derived adhesives.

Promoting enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass by inexpensive soy protein.

BACKGROUND: Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment has been considered as one of the most industrially viable and environment-friendly methods for facilitating the transformation of lignocelluloses into biofuels through biological conversion. However, lignin fragments in pretreatment hydrolysates are preferential to condense with each other and then deposit back onto cellulose surface under severe conditions. Particularly, lignin tends to relocate or redistribute under high-temperature LHW pretreatment conditions. The lignin residues on the cellulose surface would result in significant nonproductive binding of cellulolytic enzymes, and therefore negatively affect the enzymatic conversion (EC) of glucan in pretreated substrates. Although additives such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Tween series have been used to reduce nonproductive binding of enzymes through blocking the lignin, the high cost or non-biocompatibility of these additives limits their potential in industrial applications. RESULTS: Here, we firstly report that a soluble soy protein (SP) extracted from inexpensive defatted soy powder (DSP) showed excellent performance in promoting the EC of glucan in LHW-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates. The addition of the SP (80 mg/g glucan) could readily reduce the cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) loading by 8 times from 96.7 to 12.1 mg protein/g glucan and achieve a glucan EC of 80% at a hydrolysis time of 72 h. With the same cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) loading (24.2 mg protein/g glucan), the ECs of glucan in LHW-pretreated bamboo, eucalyptus, and Masson pine substrates increased from 57%, 54% and 45% (without SP) to 87%, 94% and 86% (with 80 mg SP/g glucan), respectively. Similar effects were also observed when Cellic CTec2, a newer-generation cellulase preparation, was used. Mechanistic studies indicated that the adsorption of soluble SP onto the surface of lignin residues could reduce the nonproductive binding of cellulolytic enzymes to lignin. The cost of the SP required for effective promotion would be equivalent to the cost of 2.9 mg cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L®) protein (or 1.2 FPU/g glucan), if a proposed semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (semi-SSF) model was used. CONCLUSIONS: Near-complete saccharification of glucan in LHW-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates could be achieved with the addition of the inexpensive and biocompatible SP additive extracted from DSP. This simple but remarkably effective technique could readily contribute to improving the economics of the cellulosic biorefinery industry.

A robust salt-tolerant superoleophobic alginate/graphene oxide aerogel for efficient oil/water separation in marine environments.

Marine pollution caused by frequent oil spill accidents has brought about tremendous damages to marine ecological environment. Therefore, the facile large-scale preparation of three-dimensional (3D) porous functional materials with special wettability is in urgent demand. In this study, we report a low-cost and salt-tolerant superoleophobic aerogel for efficient oil/seawater separation. The aerogel is prepared through incorporating graphene oxide (GO) into alginate (ALG) matrix by using a facile combined freeze-drying and ionic cross-linking method. The 3D structure interconnected by ALG and GO ensures the high mechanical strength and good flexibility of the developed aerogel. The rough microstructure combined with the hydrophilicity of the aerogel ensures its excellent underwater superoleophobic and antifouling properties. High-content polysaccharides contained in the aerogel guarantees its excellent salt-tolerant property. More impressively, the developed aerogel can retain its underwater superoleophobicity even after 30 days of immersion in seawater, indicating its good stability in marine environments. Furthermore, the aerogel could separate various oil/water mixtures with high separation efficiency (>99%) and good reusability (at least 40 cycles). The facile fabrication process combined with the excellent separation performance makes it promising for practical applications in marine environments.

Characterization and Performance of Soy-Based Adhesives Cured with Epoxy Resin.

Soy-based adhesives have attracted much attention recently because they are environmentally safe, low cost, and readily available. To improve the gluability and water resistance of soy-based adhesives, we prepared an enzyme-treated soy-based adhesive modified with an epoxy resin. We investigated the wet shear strength of plywood bonded with the modified adhesive using the boiling-water test. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance analysis were used to characterize the reaction between epoxy groups and ⁻NH2 groups in the modified soy-based adhesives. FTIR analysis confirmed the cross-linking structure in the cured adhesives. Viscosity and the solid content of soy-based adhesives gradually increased with the increasing amount of epoxy resin, but had little effect on its operability. Wet shear strength of plywood samples increased as the amount of epoxy resin was increased, whereas the inverse trend was observed regarding the water absorption of cured adhesives. Compared to an unmodified adhesive, the addition of 30% of epoxy resin increased the wet shear strength of plywood samples by 58.3% (0.95 MPa), meeting the requirement of the Chinese National Standard for exterior plywood. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis showed the improved thermostability of the cured adhesives after curing at 160 °C. These results suggest that epoxy resin could effectively improve the performance of enzyme-treated soy-based adhesives, which might provide a new option for the preparation of soy-based adhesives with high gluability and water resistance.

Development of Defatted Soy Flour-Based Adhesives by Acid Hydrolysis of Carbohydrates.

Soy-based adhesives are attracting increasing attention in recent years because they are a renewable and environmentally friendly raw material. Defatted soy flour (DSF), comprised of 50% protein and 40% carbohydrate, is the most widely used raw material for the preparation of soy-based adhesives that are unfortunately hampered by poor gluability and water resistance. In the present study, we developed a self-crosslinking approach to prepare a formaldehyde-free defatted soy flour-based adhesive (SBA). Carbohydrates in the DSF were hydrolyzed with 0% (controls), 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0% and 5.0% hydrochloric acid, and cross-linked with proteins to prepare the SBA. The effect of hydrolyzed carbohydrates on the performance of the SBA was investigated, and hydrolyzed carbohydrates significantly increased the amount of reducing sugars, but decreased insoluble substances. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses revealed an enhanced cross-linking structure with fewer hydrophilic groups in cured SBAs. Maillard reactions between hydrolyzed carbohydrates and proteins resulted in SBAs with better gluability, rheological properties and thermal stability than controls. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that plywood bonded with SBA had a higher wood failure rate than controls. This approach has potential for preparing bio-adhesives with enhanced properties from other natural resources with a similar polysaccharides and protein composition.