Hybrid Amyloid-Chitin Nanofibrils for Magnetic and Catalytic Aerogels

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

  • Mohammad Peydayesh
  • Enrico Boschi
  • Massimo Bagnani
  • Daniel Tay
  • Felix Donat
  • Hamed Almohammadi
  • Mingqin Li
  • Mattia Usuelli
  • Toni Shiroka
  • Raffaele Mezzenga

In the quest for a sustainable and circular economy, it is essential to explore environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional petroleum-based materials. A promising pathway toward this goal lies in the leveraging of biopolymers derived from food waste, such as proteins and polysaccharides, to develop advanced sustainable materials. Here, we design versatile hybrid materials by hybridizing amyloid nanofibrils derived by self-assembly of whey, a dairy byproduct, with chitin nanofibrils exfoliated from the two distinct allomorphs of α-chitin and β-chitin, extracted from seafood waste. Various hydrogels and aerogels were developed via the hybridization and reassembly of these biopolymeric nanobuilding blocks, and they were further magnetized upon biomineralization with iron nanoparticles. The pH-phase diagram highlights the significant role of electrostatic interactions in gel formation, between positively charged amyloid fibrils and negatively charged chitin nanofibrils. Hybrid magnetic aerogels exhibit a ferromagnetic response characterized by a low coercivity (<50 Oe) and a high specific magnetization (>40 emu/g) at all temperatures, making them particularly suitable for superparamagnetic applications. Additionally, these aerogels exhibit a distinct magnetic transition, featuring a higher blocking temperature (200 K) compared to previously reported similar nanoparticles (160 K), indicating enhanced magnetic stability at elevated temperatures. Finally, we demonstrate the practical application of these hybrid magnetic materials as catalysts for carbon monoxide oxidation, showcasing their potential in environmental pollution control and highlighting their versatility as catalyst supports.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftACS Nano
Vol/bind18
Udgave nummer8
Sider (fra-til)6690-6701
Antal sider12
ISSN1936-0851
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2024

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the support of the Scientific Center for Optical and Electron Microscopy (ScopeM) of ETH Zurich.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Chemical Society

ID: 384580289