Nanocellulose and Its Biohybrids for Water Purification : Atomic Force Microscopy as a Tool to Probe Surface Properties and Interactions

Nanocellulose has been explored extensively in recent years as an adsorbent due to its promising performance in the removal of charged contaminants from water. In this thesis, various atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques are used to understand the surface characteristics and specific interactions of nanocellulose with water contaminants (heavy metal ions and dyes) and nanoscale entities (Graphene Oxide (GO) and Graphene Oxide nanocolloids (nanoGO)), and explain the mechanisms related to adsorption, metal ion clustering, self-assembly and mechanical reinforcement. AFM probes functionalised with microscale and nanoscale celluloses were used as colloidal probes to study specific surface interactions with heavy metal ions and dyes in the aqueous medium. This approach enabled quantitative measurements of the adhesion force between nanocellulose and the water pollutants under in situ conditions by direct or in-direct methods. Adhesion forces, including the piconewton range, were measured, and the forces depended on the surface groups present on the nanocellulose. AFM imaging in dry and/or wet conditions was successfully used to investigate the adsorption, self-assembly, morphology and mechanical properties of nanocellulose and its bio-hybrids. The self-assembly, the metal nanolayer and the nanoclusters on the surface of nanocellulose and its biohybrids after adsorption were confirmed and explained by advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and computational modelling. The adhesion and stiffness measurement of single nanocellulose fibers using in situ PeakForce Quantitative Nanomechanical (PF-QNM) characterization confirmed the adsorption of metal ions on the surface in the liquid medium. PF-QNM mapping of the freestanding biohybrid membranes also revealed the enhanced modulus of the biohybrid membrane compared with the TEMPO(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxylradical)-mediated oxidation nanofibers (TOCNF) membrane, which explained the hydrolytic stability and recyclability of these membranes. The established methodology, which combines advanced microscopy with spectroscopy and modelling techniques, can be extended to other biobased macromolecular systems to investigate the adsorption behaviour and/or surface interactions in bio nanotechnology.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.