Research Initiation Award: Investigating the Efficacy and Stability of Charred Nanocellulose Materials in High Temperature and High Performing Polymers

Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences.

The award to Johnson C. Smith University will support research in the design of novel materials enhanced with cellulosic nano-additives. The project will also develop an undergraduate research program that will prepare undergraduate students for careers in STEM fields.

The goal of the project is to investigate the addition of pyrolyzed nanocellulose materials – in the form of char residue – as an additive into high performing and high curing temperature polyimide resins and examine the resulting mechanical properties of the new polymer/char composite. The char residue of cellulose nanomaterials is an attractive additive that can be added into high performance polyimides resins, because it does not degrade at cure temperatures above 350 °C.

The project will involve the integration of the char-residue into high-temperature polymers non-covalently via the pyrolysis of nanocellulosic materials into the polymeric matrices final composite. This approach opens additional opportunities for cellulose nanomaterial applications. Since the char residue has higher carbon content and surface area than the original polyimide material, its addition to the material as a reinforcement agent is expected to improve the mechanical properties of the resultant polyimide composite.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.