Cellulose membranes as support for nanomaterials: preparation and properties evaluation

Abstract

This proposal aims to immobilize different types of metallic and metallic oxide nanoparticles in unmodified cellulose membranes (CEL), which will be used as heterogeneous catalysis in several processes. The motivations for the use of this biopolymer are low cost, high abundance, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and because it is obtained from a renewable source. In addition, the membrane produced from unmodified cellulose shows chemical and thermal stabilities and good mechanical properties, and they are not soluble in aqueous media, that allows wider applicability. The usage of nanoparticles as a powder or as dispersion has some disadvantages, such as (a) aggregation in the reaction medium (b) the need of filtration or centrifugation processes to separate them from the reaction medium. The membranes will be added with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and silver-gold bimetallic nanoparticles(AuAgNP) to be used as heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NF), with neat and silver-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2NP) which will be tested as photocatalyst for degradation of Indigo Carmine and with palladium nanoparticles (PdNP) to be applied as a catalyst for Suzuki carbon-carbon couplings. (AU)