Nanowood: Fully renewable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly, natural material for the next generation thermoelectrics

Abstract:

The rapid increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere, caused by man-made factors, is one of the most serious threats of our time. The most important measure to mitigate this threat is to reduce carbon emissions through an energy transition, i.e. switching from fossil fuel energy sources to renewable energy sources that produce very limited, if not zero, carbon emissions. However, the transition to a low-carbon economy also means a significant increase in demand for the introduction of completely new “green” technologies for the production of various materials. These new materials should replace existing ones that require too much energy to produce, or are not environmentally friendly in nature. In this work, we discuss the production process for one of such environmentally friendly material - nanowood. As a basis for obtaining nanowood, natural hardwood is used, which is a waste by-product from the timber industry. As a result of a low temperature chemical process, the hierarchical cellulose base of wood is separated from other components (such as lignin and hemicellulose) to form nanowood. As an inexpensive, fully renewable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly and natural material, nanowood can form the basis for producing a range of materials for electronics, sensors, energy production and storage. I will describe technologies related to the extraction and functionalisation of the hierarchical structure, as well as to the practical use of nanowood for the production of next generation thermoelectric materials.