3D-PRINTED HIGHLY AMORPHOUS CELLULOSE WITH EXCELLENT HYDRATION PROPERTIES FOR WATER TREATMENT APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on earth, which is also considered as a green and renewable material due to its bio-based and biodegradable nature. This thesis utilizes a cellulose derivative intermediate, cellulose acetate, to fabricate bulk materials via 3D-printing, or more specifically Direct-Ink-Writing (DIW), before regenerating it back to cellulose. DIW provides the versatility of various material and architectural designs that can improve, tune or augment the printed material’s performance in specific applications. The key to achieve inks that are printable in ambient conditions lies in the rheological properties of the ink formulations. More importantly, regenerated cellulose fabricated in this manner turns out to be highly amorphous and exhibits some interesting surface and bulk hydration properties, in particular, self-cleaning/anti-oil fouling and water vaporization enthalpy reduction. Coupled with appropriate 3D-printed designs, these properties can be exploited for mesh separators in oil/water separation and vaporizers in solar desalination applications.