This internship proposal in the ‘Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolécules Végétales‘ (CERMAV) is concerned with the production, the chemical functionalization, and the characterization of biomaterials based on polysaccharides, such as cellulose or chitin, for applications related to the field of energy.Biomaterials based on nanofibers of polysaccharides, such as cellulose or chitin, are proposed for the generation of electrical charges by friction.
The first step of this project is to study the elaboration of self-supporting thin films based on functionalized cellulose or chitin microfibrils (MFC) and nanocrystals (CNC). Via an instrumented casting or filtration system, various parameters (temperature, humidity, pressure) will be tuned in order to modify the properties of the obtained nanopaper: structure, porosity, strength, flexibility, etc. A detailed understanding of the interactions between the nanofibers can also be considered using colloidal probe microscopy.
Two types of film will be targeted:
- a nanopaper with specific chemical groups to optimize the production of electrical charges by friction
- a multilayer film as a support for flexible nanogenerator with the deposition of conductive electrodes (coupling with inorganic materials) or the formation of a conductive surface layer by graphitization.