Sustainable, super-stable thermochromic material by coupling hydroxypropyl cellulose and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose

Pengyu Pan; Yuanyuan Liu; Zhishuang Zhu; Yang Liu; Renzhong Wei; Qiang Wang; Qingxian Miao; Yilian Lei; Chengshui Guo; Hongjie Zhang; Liulian Huang; Lihui Chen; Jianguo Li

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131945

Sustainable, super-stable thermochromic material by coupling hydroxypropyl cellulose and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Apr 27;268(Pt 2):131945. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131945. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Pengyu Pan¹, Yuanyuan Liu², Zhishuang Zhu², Yang Liu², Renzhong Wei³, Qiang Wang⁴, Qingxian Miao², Yilian Lei⁵, Chengshui Guo⁵, Hongjie Zhang⁶, Liulian Huang², Lihui Chen⁷, Jianguo Li⁸

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
³ Treezo New Material Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd, Hangzhou 311100, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China.
⁵ Henan Cigarette Industry Tobacco Sheet Ltd, Xuchang, Henan 461100, China.
⁶ National Engineering Lab for Pulp and Paper, China National Pulp and Paper Research Institute Co. Ltd., Beijing 100102, China.
⁷ National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: lihuichen@fafu.edu.cn.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China; National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Treezo New Material Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd, Hangzhou 311100, China; College of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China. Electronic address: jianguolicn@fafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38685544
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131945

Abstract

Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) is a green thermochromic material in energy-saving buildings, anti-counterfeiting, and data security fields. However, the high lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of HPC, around 42 °C (higher than the human thermal comfort temperature), limits its thermochromic sensitivity, poor stability, and short lifespan. Herein, we developed a durable, high-performance cellulose-based thermochromic composite with a lower LCST and easy preparation capability by combining HPC with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). In such thermochromic cellulose, CMC constructs a hydrophilic skeleton to enable uniform dispersion of HPC, and functions as a stronger competitor to attract the water molecules compared to HPC, both of which trigger high thermochromic sensitivity and low LCST (just 32.5 °C) of our CMC/HPC. In addition, CMC/HPC shows superior stability, such as 100-day working capability and 60-time recyclability. This advancement marks a significant step forward in creating sustainable, efficient thermochromic materials, offering new opportunities for energy conservation in the building.

Keywords: Cellulose; Energy-saving; Environmentally friendly; Stability; Thermochromic.