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All‐Natural, Degradable, Rolled‐Up Straws Based on Cellulose Micro‐ and Nano‐Hybrid Fibers
Author(s) -
Wang Xizheng,
Pang Zhenqian,
Chen Chaoji,
Xia Qinqin,
Zhou Yubing,
Jing Shuangshuang,
Wang Ruiliu,
Ray Upamanyu,
Gan Wentao,
Li Claire,
Chen Gegu,
Foster Bob,
Li Teng,
Hu Liangbing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201910417
Subject(s) - materials science , cellulose , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , nanofiber , straw , environmental pollution , ductility (earth science) , natural fiber , raw material , lignin , fiber , chemical engineering , engineering , environmental protection , physics , environmental science , creep , organic chemistry , chemistry , quantum mechanics
Among all the plastic pollution, straws have brought particularly intricate problems since they are single use, consumed in a large volume, cannot be recycled in most places, and can never be fully degraded. To solve this problem, replacements for plastic straws are being developed following with the global trend of plastic straw bans. Nevertheless, none of the available degradable alternatives are satisfactory due to drawbacks including poor natural degradability, high cost, low mechanical performance, and poor water stability. Here, all‐natural degradable straws are designed by hybridizing cellulose nanofibers and microfibers in a binder‐free manner. Straws are fabricated by rolling up the wet hybrid film and sealed by the internal hydrogen bonding formed among the cellulose fibers after drying. The cellulose hybrid straws show exceptional behaviors including 1) excellent mechanical performance (high tensile strength of ≈70 MPa and high ductility with a fracture strain of 12.7%), 2) sufficient hydrostability (10× wet mechanical strength compared to commercial paper straw), 3) low cost, and 4) high natural degradability. Given the low‐cost raw materials, the binder‐free hybrid design based on cellulose structure can potentially be a suitable solution to solve the environmental challenges brought by the enormous usage of plastics straws.