Project Team
Students
Shambhavi Datta Chowdhury
Chemical Engineering
Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State University Park
Faculty Mentors
Amir Sheikhi
Penn State University Park
Department of Chemical Engineering & Department of Biomedical Engineering
Project
https://sites.psu.edu/mcreu/files/formidable/2/Poster-symposium-MCREU2022-1.pdf
Project Video
Project Abstract
The overarching goal of this project is to replace petroleum-based lubricants with hairy cellulose nanocrystals, a newly emerged class of nanocelluloses made up of a crystalline body sandwiched between two layers of highly functionalized amorphous cellulose chains. Traditional drilling and pumping procedures are used to recover conventional oil from underground reserves. Petroleum extraction and consumption produce greenhouse gases, and as a result, global warming. This suggests that using petroleum as our primary source of energy hastens the destruction of our ecosystems. One of the main advantages of our project is to use plant-based nanocelluloses to replace lubricants. We aim at engineering two types of hairy cellulose nanocrystals i.e., CNCC (cationic nanocrystalline cellulose) which are positively charged and ENCC (electrostatically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose) which are negatively charged, and compare them with conventional cellulose nanocrystals, CNC, which bear a much smaller density of which bear a much smaller density of charges in the form of sulfate half-ester groups. Tribology is the study of wear, friction, and lubrication, and it includes how interacting surfaces and other tribo-elements react in relative motion. To study the topography of ball surface we use optical microscopy and 3D optical profilometry. We tested different concentrations of hairy nanocelluloses on a glass ball against glass slide to find out which nanomaterial yields the lowest coefficient of friction (COF). Nanocellulose with a crystalline structure have outstanding thermal and physiochemical characteristics. Using a tribometer, we studied the lubrication efficacy of nanocelluloses by applying a vertical load while undergoing oscillatory movements and found out that CNCC might be a promising candidate, reducing the COF.
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