Sustainable biomass-based composite biofilm: Sodium alginate, TEMPO-oxidized chitin nanocrystals, and MXene nanosheets for fire-resistant materials and next-generation sensors

Jie Zhang; Hui-Yuan Zhang; Wen-Rong Xu; Yu-Cang Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.10.080

Sustainable biomass-based composite biofilm: Sodium alginate, TEMPO-oxidized chitin nanocrystals, and MXene nanosheets for fire-resistant materials and next-generation sensors

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Jan 15;654(Pt A):795-804. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.10.080. Epub 2023 Oct 19.

Authors

Jie Zhang¹, Hui-Yuan Zhang², Wen-Rong Xu³, Yu-Cang Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Tropical Island Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Resource Utilization and Environmental Protection, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Hainan Health Management College, Haikou 570228, China.
² Heibei Key Laboratory of Hazardous Chemicals Safety and Control Technology, School of Chemical Safety, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Langfang, Hebei 065201, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Tropical Island Resources of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Resource Utilization and Environmental Protection, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China. Electronic address: xuwr2016@hainanu.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: yczhang@jmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37866051
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.10.080

Abstract

Efficient utilization of natural biomass for the development of fireproof materials and next-generation sensors faces various challenges in the field of fire safety and prevention. In this study, renewable sodium alginate (SA), TEMPO-oxidized chitin nanocrystals (TOChNs), and MXene nanosheets were employed to fabricate a sustainable, flexible, and flame-retardant composite biofilm, donated as STM, utilizing a simple and environmentally friendly evaporation-induced self-assembly technique. The incorporation of SA, TOChNs, and MXene in a weight ratio of 50/10/40 led to improved mechanical properties of the resulting STM-40 films, as evidenced by increased tensile strength and Young's modulus values of approximately 36 MPa and 4 GPa, respectively. Notably, these values were approximately 3 and 11 times higher than those observed for the pure SA film. Moreover, the STM-40 films demonstrated highly sensitive fire alarm capabilities, exhibiting a superior flame alarm response time of 0.6 s and a continuous alarm time of approximately 492 s when exposed to flames. The STM exhibited exceptional flame retardancy due to the synergistic carbonization between MXene and SA/TOChNs, resulting in a limiting oxygen index of 45.0 %. Furthermore, its maximum heat release rate decreased by over 90.1 % during the test. This study presents a novel approach for designing and developing fire-retardant fire alarm sensors by utilizing natural biomass.

Keywords: Chitin nanocrystal; Composite biofilm; Fire early warning; Flame retardancy; MXene.