One-pot fabrication of flexible and luminescent nanofilm by in-situ radical polymerization of vinyl carbazole on nanofibrillated cellulose

Otavio Augusto Titton Dias; Samir Konar; Antimo Graziano; Alcides Lopes Leão; Jimi Tjong; Shaffiq Jaffer; Mohini Sain

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117934

One-pot fabrication of flexible and luminescent nanofilm by in-situ radical polymerization of vinyl carbazole on nanofibrillated cellulose

Carbohydr Polym. 2021 Jun 15:262:117934. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117934. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Authors

Otavio Augusto Titton Dias¹, Samir Konar², Antimo Graziano³, Alcides Lopes Leão⁴, Jimi Tjong⁵, Shaffiq Jaffer⁶, Mohini Sain²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biocomposites and Biomaterials Processing, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B3, Canada. Electronic address: otavio.dias@mail.utoronto.ca.
² Centre for Biocomposites and Biomaterials Processing, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B3, Canada; Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3G8, Canada.
³ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada.
⁴ College of Agricultural Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, São Paulo, 18610307, Brazil.
⁵ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3G8, Canada.
⁶ TOTAL American Services Inc., Hopkinton, MA, 01748, USA.

PMID: 33838811
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117934

Abstract

Photoresponsive functionalized nanofilms were prepared via radical polymerization of carbazole units on a nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) backbone via one-pot procedure. Herein, NFC was functionalized with active carbazole units as pendant organic moieties. The nanofilms were characterized by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, ¹³C NMR and proton NMR spectra, contact angle analysis, mechanical testing, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fabricated nanofilms exhibited large tensile strength (∼110 MPa), higher hydrophobicity and luminescence activity. The results indicated that the prepared optically active nanofilms present potential applications in the fields of flexible organic light emitting devices.

Keywords: Cellulose nanofibrils; Free-radical polymerization; Grafting; Organic light-emitting devices; Photoluminescence.

MeSH terms

Carbazoles / chemistry*
Cellulose / chemistry*
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Luminescence
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / methods
Nanofibers / chemistry*
Polymerization
Polymers / chemistry
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / methods
Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods
Tensile Strength
Vinyl Compounds / chemistry*

Substances

Carbazoles
Polymers
Vinyl Compounds
Cellulose