Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Renewable Natural Resources

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Cellulose nanomaterials (CNMs), including cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), offer potential value-added applications. This dissertation explores their versatility through three applications. In the first application, CNCs and CNFs were combined to create a pH-sensitive film by immobilizing anthocyanins from red cabbage extract (RCE). The addition of RCE altered the suspension's rheological, optical, and mechanical properties, with films containing 30 wt.% RCE exhibiting optimal performance and rapid pH responsiveness for seafood packaging. The second application addressed zinc dendrite growth and short circuits in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) by fabricating a hybrid NFC/Al(OH)3 /PTFE protective layer for zinc anodes. The Al(OH)3 nanoparticles formed more porous structure, while PTFE improved membrane adhesion, restricting active water and anion-induced corrosion. This coating enabled ZIBs to achieve improved cycling stability, with 94% capacity retention after 300 cycles and 72% after 3300 cycles in full vanadium dioxide cells, demonstrating their practicality for energy storage. In the third application, core-shell thermochromic fibers were produced via co-axial electrospinning using PLA and surface-modified CNCs (mCNCs) as the shell and thermochromic materials as the core. The presence of mCNCs improved the thermal stability and mechanical properties of fibers. These fibers demonstrated rapid and reversible color changes between 0–20 ˚C, making them effective temperature sensors with acceptable thermal and mechanical stability. A fourth application developed in this work is a stretchable CNF/MXene/PDMS nanocomposite strain sensor. MXene improved conductivity and strain sensitivity, while PDMS enhanced flexibility and thermal stability. The sensor showed reliable performance over repeated cycles, with potential for sustainable strain sensors in dynamic environments.

Date

10-29-2025

Committee Chair

Qinglin Wu

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Available for download on Thursday, October 29, 2026

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