The use of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) as an additive in papermaking is an attractive alternative to improve paper’s strength. However, the costs of CNF production need to be competitive compared to other approaches aimed at reducing mechanical beating. Five different types of CNFs were prepared following different pretreatments: TEMPO-mediated oxidation at basic and neutral conditions, soft aci...

High electronic conductivity of the support material and uniform distribution of the catalyst nanoparticles (NPs) are extremely desirable for electrocatalysts. In this paper, we present our recent progress on electrocatalysts for fuel cells with simultaneously improved conductivity of the supporting carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and distribution of platinum (Pt) NPs through facile incorporation of g...

This study investigates the antibacterial mechanism of action of electrospun chitosan-based nanofibers (CNFs), against Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua, bacteria frequently involved in food contamination and spoilage. CNFs were prepared by electrospinning of chitosan and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blends. The in vitro antibact...

Sn-filled carbon nanofibres (CNFs) are fabricated by microwave plasma chemical deposition. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed the existence of a Sn island under the CNFs. The structure of the CNFs is investigated, and the behaviour of Sn in the internal space of CNFs is revealed by performing in situ heating observations by environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM). ...

Cement is one of the mostly used construction materials due to its high durability and low cost, but it suffers from brittle fracture and facile crack initiation. This article describes the use of naturally-derived renewable cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) to reinforce cement. The effects of CNFs on the mechanical properties, degree of hydration (DOH), and microstructure of cement pastes have been ...

This study investigates the antibacterial action of chitosan-based nanofibers (CNFs) obtained by the electrospinning process on the permeability of bacterial membranes. The bactericidal efficiency of CNFs was first determined against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium, and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua bacteria as a baseline. The results strongl...

The reaction of three types of carbon nanofibers (CNFs; platelet: CNF-P, tubular: CNF-T, herringbone: CNF-H) with [Ru3(CO)12] in toluene heated at reflux provided the corresponding CNF-supported ruthenium nanoparticles, Ru/CNFs (Ru content = 1.1-3.8 wt %). TEM studies of these Ru/CNFs revealed that size-controlled Ru nanoparticles (2-4 nm) exist on the CNFs, and that their location was dependen...

The facile preparation of high-purity carbon nanofibers (CNFs) remains challenging due to the high complexity and low controllability in reaction. A novel approach using gas-induced formation of Cu crystals to control the growth of CNFs is developed in this study. By adjusting the atmospheric composition, controllable preparation of Cu nanoparticles (NPs) with specific size and shape is achieve...

Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are of interest as load-bearing components for polymer matrix nanocomposites. A wide range of nanostructured materials including nanopaper/films, foams, aerogels, and hydrogels can be prepared from CNFs. The material performance can be fine-tuned when CNFs are combined with different polymer matrices. The main idea of the present study is to test the hypothesis that ...

PtCo/CNFs exhibit extraordinary catalytic activity and durability for hydrogen evolution reaction, even approaching the performance of the commercial Pt/C catalyst, which can be attributed to the alloy structure and the encapsulation of PtCo alloy nanoparticles in CNFs.