On July 23, 2020, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “Material manufacturing from nano-scaled particles: moving forward using plants” by Dr. Blaise Tardy, Research Fellow, Bio-Based Colloids and Materials Research Group — Aalto University in Finland. Dr. Tardy notes that bio-based nanomaterials such as nanocellulose “have shown great promise in forming high performance materials, with the potential to replace plastics.” In addition to replacing hazardous synthetic materials such as single-use, disposable materials, these biomaterials could be used in car parts, 3D-printable bioinks, reflective coatings, adhesives, and high-strength filaments. According to Dr. Tardy, these bio-based nanoparticles offer the promise of large-scale nanomanufacturing using water-based systems. Dr. Tardy states that “[u]sing water as the solvent to assemble these fibers results in a myriad of material types, with increasingly versatile properties as associated with ongoing worldwide nanomaterials research and developments.” As the field of nanotechnology moves forward, integrating the use of green, bio-based nanoparticles will become increasingly beneficial, particularly for materials with a short service lifetime, such as packaging, single-use personal protective equipment, and disposable filters. Dr. Tardy concludes that “finding ways to facilitate nanomanufacturing will become as important as the development of these outstanding nanoparticles, which are essential for future developments in materials science.”
[View source.]
