Synthesis and catalytic performance of banana cellulose nanofibres grafted with poly(ε-caprolactone) in a novel two-dimensional zinc(II) metal-organic framework

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules Vol. 224; pp. 568 - 577
• Main Authors: Pang, Jinying, Gao, Qifeng, Yin, Lili, Zhang, Shuhua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Amphiphilic polymer; Banana cellulose nanofibres; Catalysis; Cellulose; HeLa Cells; Humans; Metal-Organic Frameworks; Musa; Nanofibers; Zinc; Zn-metal-organic framework; Banana cellulose nanofibres; Zn-metal-organic framework; Amphiphilic polymer
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.10.145

In this study, banana cellulose nanofibres (BNCFs) were prepared using waste banana stems. A novel two-dimensional (2D) Zn-MOF was synthesized using 5-(1-hydro-imidazolyl) isophthalic acid as the ligand. The results of the X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and scanning electron microscopy analyses confirmed the stability of Zn-MOF. Thus, Zn-MOF was used to catalyze BNCFs grafted with poly(ε-caprolactone) (ε-CL) (BGCL) by homogeneous ring-opening polymerization in ionic liquid. The grafting ratio of the BGCL prepared by Zn-MOF reached 84.12 %, which was 10.03% higher than that catalyzed by 4-dimethylamino pyridine which was the state-of-the-art catalyst for this reaction. The banana cellulose nanofibres grafted with ε-CL reactions followed the coordination-insertion mechanism, which was confirmed by the theoretical calculations using the Materials Studio software. The cytotoxicity results indicated that BGCL was not only non-toxic to Hela cells but also promoted Hela cell growth within a certain concentration range. Therefore, this study demonstrated the promising potential of BGCL for biomedical applications, and the high efficiency, non-toxicity, and stability of Zn-MOF as the catalyst. Further, this will provide a theoretical basis for the application of MOFs as catalysts in polymerization reactions. [Display omitted] •BNCFs grafted with ε-CL (BGCL) were synthesized by catalyst Zn-MOF in green way.•The Zn -MOF has high efficiency, non-toxic and stability as catalyst.•Grafting ratio of BGCL by Zn-MOF reached 84.12 %, which was 10.03 % higher than DMAP.•The BGCL was not only non-toxic but also promoted the growth of Hela cells.•The mechanism of BGCL follows the ‘coordination-insertion’.