Nanodiamonds have excellent mechanical and optical properties, high surface areas and tunable surface structures. They are also non-toxic, which makes them well suited to biomedical applications. Here we review the synthesis, structure, properties, surface chemistry and phase transformations of individual nanodiamonds and clusters of nanodiamonds. In particular we discuss the rational control of the mechanical, chemical, electronic and optical properties of nanodiamonds through surface doping, interior doping and the introduction of functional groups. These little gems have a wide range of potential applications in tribology, drug delivery, bioimaging and tissue engineering, and also as protein mimics and a filler material for nanocomposites.

The properties and applications of nanodiamonds

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/768408.pdf

Mechanical properties of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites

With the arising of global climate change and resource shortage, in recent years, increased attention has been paid to environmentally friendly materials. Trees are sustainable and renewable materials, which give us shelter and oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Trees are a primary resource that human society depends upon every day, for example, homes, heating, furniture, and aircraft. Wood from trees gives us paper, cardboard, and medical supplies, thus impacting our homes, school, work, and play. All of the above-mentioned applications have been well developed over the past thousands of years. However, trees and wood have much more to offer us as advanced materials, impacting emerging high-tech fields, such as bioengineering, flexible electronics, and clean energy. Wood naturally has a hierarchical structure, composed of well-oriented microfibers and tracheids for water, ion, and oxygen transportation during metabolism. At higher magnification, the walls of fiber cells have an interes...

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf2016/fpl_2016_zhu001.pdf

Wood-Derived Materials for Green Electronics, Biological Devices, and Energy Applications.

Production and modification of nanofibrillated cellulose using various mechanical processes: A review

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/518754.pdf

On the use of nanocellulose as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites

To exploit the mechanical potential of native cellulose fibrils, we report on the preparation of nanopaper with preferred orientation of nanofibrillated cellulose (TEMPO-NFC) by cold drawing. The preparation route is papermaking-like and includes vacuum filtering of a TEMPO-oxidated NFC water dispersion, drawing in wet state and drying. The orientation of the fibrils in the nanopaper was assessed by AFM and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis, and the effect on mechanical properties of the resulting nanopaper structure was investigated by tensile tests. At high draw ratio, the degree of orientation is as high as 82 and 89% in-the-plane and cross-sectional planes of the nanopaper, respectively, and the Young’s modulus is 33 GPa. This is much higher than mechanical properties of isotropic nanopaper. The cold drawing method can be also applied to NFC nanocomposites as demonstrated by preparation of TEMPO-NFC/hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) nanocomposites. The introduction of the soft HEC matrix allows further...

Cellulose Nanofiber Orientation in Nanopaper and Nanocomposites by Cold Drawing

Carbon-based nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes, are well-known for their unique physical properties. They have attracted interest as reinforcing fillers because of their superb mechanical properties (Young’s modulus ≥1 TPa and tensile strength = 100–150 GPa). However, the success of the reinforcement has been limited because of their tendency to form agglomerates in polymer matrices. We report the excellent reinforcement properties of polymer nanocomposites by the incorporation of nanodiamond (ND). ND has been expected to offer polymer nanocomposites optimal properties because of its smooth surface and excellent optical, mechanical, and thermal properties, which can approach the values of single diamond crystal. We prepared poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/ND nanocomposites by a simple casting method from aqueous medium and achieved the high dispersibility of ND in the PVA matrices. The resulting nanocomposites had excellent properties derived both from ND and PVA. The Young’s modulus of the nanocomposites...

Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposites with Nanodiamond

Graphene, a single layer of graphite, has recently attracted a large amount of attention because of its extremely high electronic and thermal properties, as many nanoscale materials are based on individual graphene. Graphene oxide (GO), which is the intermediate during the chemical processing of graphene, consists of graphene functionalized with oxygen-containing functional groups that imparts the desirable solution-processability to the neat graphene. Herein, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), a hydrophilic polymer, was selected as the matrix, and PVA/GO nanocomposites were prepared by a simple and environment friendly process using water as the proceeding medium. In the PVA matrix, GO was exfoliated and nanodispersed. We found that the nanocomposites constructed by the incorporation of GO up to 1% by weight possess remarkable properties, such as significantly high mechanical and thermal properties. These excellent reinforcement effects were achieved not only by the rigid structure and high aspect ratio of the exfoliated GO but also by the strong interaction between PVA and GO. Furthermore, owing to the sheet-like structure of GO, the barrier properties of the nanocomposites were found to be dramatically increased. The graphene oxide (GO)-reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposites were prepared using a simple and environment friendly process using aqueous medium. GO was revealed to be nanodispersed in the PVA matrix. The Young’s modulus of the nanocomposites largely exceeded the predicted value with only a low content of GO. We also revealed the increase in the thermal resistance and the barrier properties. As a result, not only the excellent properties but also the advantageous effects derived from the sheet-like structure of GO were successfully imparted to the nanocomposites.

/pdf/poly-vinyl-alcohol-graphene-oxide-nanocomposites-prepared-by-2k2daabzhg.pdf

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide nanocomposites prepared by a simple eco-process

Stretchable and strong cellulose nanopaper structures based on polymer-coated nanofiber networks: an alternative to nonwoven porous membranes from electrospinning.

Graphene oxide (GO) possesses the desirable characteristic of aqueous solution processability attributed to the oxygen-containing functional groups on the basal planes and edges of graphene. To provide an alternative to conventional procedures for fabricating poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/GO nanocomposites, which use organic solutions and/or surfactants, we have developed an environmentally friendly technique in which PMMA is polymerized by soap-free emulsion polymerization and incorporated with GO using water as a processing medium. Experimental results showed that the fabricated PMMA/GO nanocomposites had excellent mechanical, thermal, and O2 barrier properties with the nanodispersion of GO.

Seira Morimune

Papers

Cellulose Nanofiber Orientation in Nanopaper and Nanocomposites by Cold Drawing

Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposites with Nanodiamond

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide nanocomposites prepared by a simple eco-process

Stretchable and strong cellulose nanopaper structures based on polymer-coated nanofiber networks: an alternative to nonwoven porous membranes from electrospinning.

Ecological approach to graphene oxide reinforced poly (methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites.