Wood Derived Cellulose Scaffolds—Processing and Mechanics

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 33; no. 28; pp. e2001375 - n/a
• Main Authors: Keplinger, Tobias, Wittel, Falk K., Rüggeberg, Markus, Burgert, Ingo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2021
• Subjects: Cellulose; cellulose scaffolds; Chemical composition; delignification; Densification; Materials science; Mechanical properties; mechanics; Optimization; Scaffolds; wood‐derived materials
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202001375

Wood‐derived cellulose materials obtained by structure‐retaining delignification are attracting increasing attention due to their excellent mechanical properties and great potential to serve as renewable and CO2 storing cellulose scaffolds for advanced hybrid materials with embedded functionality. Various delignification protocols and a multitude of further processing steps including polymer impregnation and densification are applied resulting in a large range of properties. However, treatment optimization requires a more comprehensive characterization of the developed materials in terms of structure, chemical composition, and mechanical properties for faster progress in the field. Herein, the current protocols for structure‐retaining delignification are reviewed and the emphasis is placed on the mechanical characterization at different hierarchical levels of the cellulose scaffolds by experiments and modeling to reveal the underlying structure–property relationships. Wood‐derived cellulose materials by structure‐retaining delignification show excellent mechanical properties and facilitate the embedding of advanced functionality. To pave the way for a multitude of applications and substitute less ecofriendly materials, future research needs to focus on a deeper understanding of the impact of the various processing steps and the resulting structure–property relationships.