Issue 12, 2020

Bacterial cellulose: an encouraging eco-friendly nano-candidate for energy storage and energy conversion

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC), an eco-friendly nano-biomaterial, has attracted widespread attention due to its unique interconnected network structure and robust physical properties, such as high water holding capacity, large specific surface area, good chemical stability, environmental friendliness and remarkable mechanical strength. These fascinating features make BC an ideal candidate for fabricating highly versatile three-dimensional carbon nanomaterials and serving as a tunable flexible scaffold material. This review presents a comprehensive and systematic summary of the current developments of BC in electrochemical energy storage and conversion. We first briefly introduce the source, natural properties and microstructural features of BC and give the reason why it is suitable as a candidate material for energy storage and conversion. Then, we summarize the production processes of various BC-derived carbon nanofibers and their hybrids, including porous carbon nanofibers, doped carbon nanofibers, and carbon nanofiber-derived hybrid materials with carbon materials, metal oxides/hydroxides and conducting polymers. Moreover, we highlight several significant kinds of research studies for the applications of BC in energy storage (supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, lithium–sulfur batteries, and sodium-ion batteries) and energy conversion (oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction). Finally, we give some prospects on future directions, challenges and opportunities in this fascinating area of designing functional nanomaterials and flexible electrodes from BC for various energy systems.

Graphical abstract: Bacterial cellulose: an encouraging eco-friendly nano-candidate for energy storage and energy conversion

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
14 Nov 2019
Accepted
05 Mar 2020
First published
05 Mar 2020

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020,8, 5812-5842

Bacterial cellulose: an encouraging eco-friendly nano-candidate for energy storage and energy conversion

L. Ma, Z. Bi, Y. Xue, W. Zhang, Q. Huang, L. Zhang and Y. Huang, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 5812 DOI: 10.1039/C9TA12536A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements