Green synthesis of sheet-like cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide nanohybrids with multifunctional performance through one-step hydrothermal method

In the present study, we report novel sheet-like cellulose nanocrystal-zinc oxide nanohybrids (CNC-ZnO) by using a one-step hydrothermal method. Various concentrations of Zn2+ ions were functionalized in CNC surface and a possible mechanism for the formation of CNC-ZnO nanohybrids with hexagonal sheet-like structure converted to the flower-like structure was also presented. Additionally, the sheet-like CNC-ZnO5.0 showed good antimicrobial activity, excellent thermal stability and high photocatalytic activity of 95.21% of methylene blue dye was decomposed after 200min under UV light irradiation. More significantly, the CNC-ZnO5.0 nanohybrid can be recycled three times with good Turnover frequency values. Compared to pure CNC, the maximum degradation temperature (T-max) of sheet-like nanocrystal-zinc oxide nanohybrid with the addition of 5mmol Zn2+ ions (CNC-ZnO5.0) nanohybrid was improved by 23.1 degrees C, and its limiting oxygen index increased up to 49.6%. This work provides a simple preparation procedure of sheet-like CNC-ZnO nanohybrids with good antimicrobial, photocatalytic and thermal properties for attractive applications as biomedical materials and flame-retardants. [GRAPHICS] .