Team NATURE
A team of university students is raising money for their research on a strong paper material that could potentially work as an environmentally friendly replacement for plastics in electronic devices.
Members of team NATURE, a Gemstone Honors Program group project, started a Launch UMD campaign to fund their research and have raised about 80 percent of their $7,000 goal as of yesterday.
Their research focuses on cellulose nanopaper, a transparent and robust substance made up of tree fibers but altered on the nanoscale.
This material could potentially have applications ranging from printed electronics to solar panels, members said.
“The problem is plastics are resourced from fossil fuels, which are limited resources,” said sophomore aerospace engineering major Karenna Buco, “whereas the technology we’re trying to help develop is a sustainable alternative that comes from the cellulose of trees and plants, so you can always renew those.”
Liangbing Hu, a materials science and engineering professor, mentors the group of 14 undergraduate students, all sophomores in various majors. The team’s project proposal was approved by Gemstone in February.
Cellulose, which makes up the cell walls and fibers of plants, is abundant in nature. The team is researching the cellulose from pine and looking at the fibers on the nanoscale, said sophomore finance and information systems major Sachi Khemka.
“Basically what we’re doing is you have the cellulose fiber, and you’re breaking it down into smaller fibers, and then you make paper out of the smaller fibers,” said Hannah Russell, a sophomore chemistry and environmental science and technology major. “It’s transparent and a lot stronger than regular paper.”
Hu developed the cellulose nanopaper, and the team began the research this academic year and plans to conclude in spring 2017. Buco said the project is in the beginning stages of development, and the next phase would involve experimenting and exploring the various properties of the paper to see how the team might be able to improve it.
“By looking at the paper at the nanoscale, we are trying to improve all of its properties so that we can make it a viable replacement for plastics, specifically in electronics,” Khemka said. “So we’re looking at different applications, once we finish doing property testing and figuring out what it is we want to improve — water-resistance, optical haze, transparency, electrical conductivity.”
When light shines through the paper, the fibers can diffuse or spread the light out on a greater surface area. He said because this material absorbs more light and produces more energy, it could be useful for solar-cell or solar-powered technology.
“The kind of electronics we’re looking to use this paper in is solar cells, cellphones — particularly touch screens — LEDs, television screens [and] printed circuits,” Buco said.
Another potential application of the nanopaper is with printed electronics, Russell said, which involve electrical circuits printed onto various substances such as paper or plastic. If they can apply the substance for this use, they could use nanopaper for pieces in electronics, and then recycle or easily dispose of the paper material, Russell said.
The team’s project is funded by Gemstone with $600 a year, but Sachi and Buco said this is not enough for the various chemicals and lab equipment they need. The Launch UMD campaign to raise $7,000 ends Friday.
“Our project is pretty expansive; there’s a lot that we want to accomplish because we’re a very ambitious group,” Buco said. “[Hu] really believes in [this technology] and he instilled in us to believe it as well, so we have a lot of faith in our project.”
