Issue 45, 2020

Plant celluloses, hemicelluloses, lignins, and volatile oils for the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials

Abstract

A huge variety of plants are harvested worldwide and their different constituents can be converted into a broad range of bionanomaterials. In parallel, much research effort in materials science and engineering is focused on the formation of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials originating from agricultural residues. Cellulose (40–50%), hemicellulose (20–40%), and lignin (20–30%) represent major plant ingredients and many techniques have been described that separate the main plant components for the synthesis of nanocelluloses, nano-hemicelluloses, and nanolignins with divergent and controllable properties. The minor components, such as essential oils, could also be used to produce non-toxic metal and metal oxide nanoparticles with high bioavailability, biocompatibility, and/or bioactivity. This review describes the chemical structure, the physical and chemical properties of plant cell constituents, different techniques for the synthesis of nanocelluloses, nanohemicelluloses, and nanolignins from various lignocellulose sources and agricultural residues, and the extraction of volatile oils from plants as well as their use in metal and metal oxide nanoparticle production and emulsion preparation. Furthermore, details about the formation of activated carbon nanomaterials by thermal treatment of lignocellulose materials, a few examples of mineral extraction from agriculture waste for nanoparticle fabrication, and the emerging applications of plant-based nanomaterials in different fields, such as biotechnology and medicine, environment protection, environmental remediation, or energy production and storage, are also included. This review also briefly discusses the recent developments and challenges of obtaining nanomaterials from plant residues, and the issues surrounding toxicity and regulation.

Graphical abstract: Plant celluloses, hemicelluloses, lignins, and volatile oils for the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
25 Jun. 2020
Accepted
09 Okt. 2020
First published
13 Okt. 2020

Nanoscale, 2020,12, 22845-22890

Plant celluloses, hemicelluloses, lignins, and volatile oils for the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials

A. Barhoum, J. Jeevanandam, A. Rastogi, P. Samyn, Y. Boluk, A. Dufresne, M. K. Danquah and M. Bechelany, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 22845 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR04795C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements