Fibration of powdery materials

Hanwei Wang; Cheng Zeng; Chao Wang; Jinzhou Fu; Yingying Li; Yushan Yang; Zhichen Du; Guangming Tao; Qingfeng Sun; Tianyou Zhai; Huiqiao Li

doi:10.1038/s41563-024-01821-3

Fibration of powdery materials

Nat Mater. 2024 Feb 28. doi: 10.1038/s41563-024-01821-3. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hanwei Wang^#¹, Cheng Zeng^#², Chao Wang^#¹, Jinzhou Fu², Yingying Li¹, Yushan Yang¹, Zhichen Du², Guangming Tao^{2

3}, Qingfeng Sun⁴, Tianyou Zhai⁵, Huiqiao Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China.
³ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China. qfsun@zafu.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China. zhaity@hust.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China. hqli@hust.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38418925
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-01821-3

Abstract

Non-destructive processing of powders into macroscopic materials with a wealth of structural and functional possibilities has immeasurable scientific significance and application value, yet remains a challenge using conventional processing techniques. Here we developed a universal fibration method, using two-dimensional cellulose as a mediator, to process diverse powdered materials into micro-/nanofibres, which provides structural support to the particles and preserves their own specialties and architectures. It is found that the self-shrinking force drives the two-dimensional cellulose and supported particles to pucker and roll into fibres, a gentle process that prevents agglomeration and structural damage of the powder particles. We demonstrate over 120 fibre samples involving various powder guests, including elements, compounds, organics and hybrids in different morphologies, densities and particle sizes. Customized fibres with an adjustable diameter and guest content can be easily constructed into high-performance macromaterials with various geometries, creating a library of building blocks for different fields of applications. Our fibration strategy provides a universal, powerful and non-destructive pathway bridging primary particles and macroapplications.

Abstract

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