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SUMMARY:IMX Seminar Series - Nanocellulose
DTSTART:20221031T131500
DTEND:20221031T141500
DTSTAMP:20260509T203701Z
UID:488584eba44be9b9071505d75efc6d6587efb02c5f9c12804dd80dfb
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Tiffany Abitbol\, EPFL\, Switzerland\nIn the first half 
 of this talk\, I will introduce cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulos
 e nanofibrils (CNFs)\, how they are typically produced\, their main defini
 ng features\, and some popular applications of these materials. CNCs and C
 NFs are crystalline nanomaterials that are isolated from natural sources o
 f cellulose in the form of water-based suspensions. The properties of CNCs
  and CNFs depend on the specifics of how they are isolated\, as this deter
 mines their size distribution\, nano-fraction\, and surface charge density
 . In turn\, these features dictate the colloidal stability\, percolation\,
  and viscosity of CNC/CNF suspensions\, as well as the optical\, mechanica
 l\, and barrier properties of films cast from these suspensions.\nNext\, I
  will focus on CNCs produced from cotton and from softwood kraft pulps (fu
 lly bleached vs. residual lignin). Within a given cellulose source\, varyi
 ng the conditions of isolation influences fundamental CNC properties\, wit
 h milder conditions yielding lower surface charges\, larger and more polyd
 isperse particles\, and lower crystallinity. In addition\, differences in 
 the cellulose source itself can also influence downstream nanoparticle pro
 perties\, for instance cotton CNCs have larger lateral dimensions\, higher
  crystallinity\, and lower surface charge\, compared to similarly isolated
  CNCs from softwood kraft pulps. From a sustainability perspective\, yield
  and water usage are also affected\, with low-to-intermediate charged CNCs
  produced using less reagent and at higher yield and solid content. Furthe
 rmore\, CNC suspensions produced from wood pulps with residual lignin addi
 tionally contain lignin nanoparticles\, which can further modify material 
 properties.\nPapers:\n1. Kaschuk\, J. J.\, Al\, Y.\, Rojas\, O. J.\, Mi
 ettunen\, K.\, Abitbol\, T.\, Vapaavuori\, J.\, Plant-Based Structures 
 as an Opportunity to Engineer Optical Functions in Next-Generation Light M
 anagement. Adv. Mater. 2022\, 34\, 2104473. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad
 ma.202104473\n2. Tiffany Abitbol\, Doron Kam\, Yael Levi-Kalisman\, Derek 
 G. Gray\, and Oded Shoseyov\, Langmuir 2018 34 (13)\, 3925-3933 DOI: 10.10
 21/acs.langmuir.7b04127\nBio: In 2011\, I obtained my PhD in Chemistry fro
 m McGill University in Prof. Derek Gray’s group\, where my work focused 
 on cellulosic nanocomposite films\, fibers\, hydrogels\, and colloids. Aft
 er two postdocs\, one at McMaster University\, where I focused on cellulos
 e nanocrystal (CNC) characterization\, self-assembly\, and surface modific
 ation\, and a second at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem\, where I furth
 er studied CNCs\, here branching to protein-CNC complexes and a deeper loo
 k at CNC self-assembly\, I moved to Stockholm\, Sweden. In Sweden\, I work
 ed as a senior researcher from 2017-2022 at RISE Research Institutes of Sw
 eden\, where I participated in and led cross-disciplinary commercially spo
 nsored projects\, including in packaging\, wound care\, food\, and persona
 l care. At the same time\, I continued to engage in fundamental nanocellul
 ose research\, supported by public funding and by industry consortia inter
 ested in building up a knowledge base to address key challenges related to
  nanocellulose implementation. Not that long ago\, in June 2022\, I starte
 d a professor position at EPFL in the Institute of Materials. My group (Su
 stainable Materials Laboratory – SML) continues to focus on cellulose an
 d other bio-based materials\, with an overarching aim of connecting compos
 ition and colloidal properties to the performance of engineered materials 
 derived from renewable resources.\n 
LOCATION:MXF 1 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MXF%201
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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