Journal article
Multifunctional Cellulose Nanofiber Films With Embedded Highly Oriented MXene Flakes
Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), Forthcoming
04 Aug 2026
PMID: 42549702
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Abstract
Ultrathin transparent photonic films that are simultaneously robust, cytocompatible, and actively antimicrobial remain rare. Here, the critical physical properties of freestanding micrometer‐thick films composed of layered cellulose nanofibers intercalated with Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanosheets (CNF‐MXene) are established. Correlated co‐alignment of MXene flakes with near‐perfect in‐plane order is achieved in the cellulose nanofiber matrix by vacuum‐assisted filtration. The Herman's orientation parameter of MXene nanosheets reaches up to 0.94, approaching the theoretical limit of 1.0 for perfect orientational order. Flow‐assisted alignment and nanofiber‐mediated confinement are proposed to suppress MXene restacking and lock the unique film architecture into a stable scaffold. This highly ordered structure yields a significant increase in mechanical strength and elastic modulus. Moreover, co‐alignment of individual flakes at ultralow volume fractions (below 1%) creates accessible, photothermally active surface sites within optically clear films. As a result, these ultrathin CNF‐MXene membranes combine near‐infrared‐activated photothermal antimicrobial behavior and molecular adsorption of organic dye as a proxy for accessibility, highlighting a distinctive multifunctional platform for active bio‐based films with strong potential for wound‐healing applications and long‐term functionality preservation.
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Details
- Title
- Multifunctional Cellulose Nanofiber Films With Embedded Highly Oriented MXene Flakes
- Creators
- Valeriia Poliukhova - Georgia Institute of TechnologyJacob Crossno - United States Air Force Research LaboratoryKateryna Diedkova - Sumy State UniversityViktoriia Korniienko - Sumy State UniversityJisoo Jeon - Georgia Institute of TechnologySankarshanaram S. Vempati - Georgia Institute of TechnologyJaejun Lee - Georgia Institute of TechnologyKirt A. Page - United States Air Force Research LaboratoryHilmar Koerner - United States Air Force Research LaboratoryMaksym Pogorielov - Sumy State UniversityYury Gogotsi - Drexel UniversityVladimir V. Tsukruk (Corresponding Author) - Georgia Institute of Technology
- Publication Details
- Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), Forthcoming
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: 58-8072-5-052 National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation provided financial support for this research grant, NSF-CBET 2202907, NSF IMPRESS-U program, the Air Force Research Laboratory grant FA 8650-22-D5803 and the Air Force Office for Scientific Research grant FA9550-23-1-0641. K.D. acknowledges the financial support from the "Latvian Post-doctoral" research project (No 1.1.1.9/LZP/1/24/142). M.P. acknowledges the financial support from the M-Era.Net project AntiMicroMXene. Y.G. was supported by the US Department of Agriculture under agreement 58-8072-5-052.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001839112000001
- Other Identifier
- 991022201460404721