A Strong, Tough, and Scalable Structural Material from Fast‐Growing Bamboo. Issue 10 (30th January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Zhihan; Chen, Chaoji; Mi, Ruiyu; Gan, Wentao; Dai, Jiaqi; Jiao, Miaolun; Xie, Hua; Yao, Yonggang; Xiao, Shaoliang; Hu, Liangbing
• Is Part Of: Advanced materials. Volume 32:Issue 10(2020)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-01-30
• Subjects: bamboo -- lightweight materials -- renewable -- strong and tough -- structural materials; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201906308
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0935-9648

Abstract

Abstract: Lightweight structural materials with high strength are desirable for advanced applications in transportation, construction, automotive, and aerospace. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants with a peak growth rate up to 100 cm per day. Here, a simple and effective top‐down approach is designed for processing natural bamboo into a lightweight yet strong bulk structural material with a record high tensile strength of ≈1 GPa and toughness of 9.74 MJ m −3 . More specifically, bamboo is densified by the partial removal of its lignin and hemicellulose, followed by hot‐pressing. Long, aligned cellulose nanofibrils with dramatically increased hydrogen bonds and largely reduced structural defects in the densified bamboo structure contribute to its high mechanical tensile strength, flexural strength, and toughness. The low density of lignocellulose in the densified bamboo leads to a specific strength of 777 MPa cm 3 g −1, which is significantly greater than other reported bamboo materials and most structural materials (e.g., natural polymers, plastics, steels, and alloys). This work demonstrates a potential large‐scale production of lightweight, strong bulk structural materials from abundant, fast‐growing, and sustainable bamboo. Abstract : A strong, lightweight bulk bamboo material with high tensile strength up to 1 GPa and flexural strength up to 550 MPa is prepared by a simple and effective top‐down approach, demonstrating the potential large‐scale production of lightweight, strong bulk structural materials from abundant, fast‐growing, and sustainable bamboo.