Micro- and nanosize lignin has recently gained interest due to improved properties compared to standard lignin available today. As the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose, lignin is readily available but used for rather low-value applications. This review focuses on the application of micro- and nanostructured lignin in final products or processes that all show potential for high ad...

Stabilities and structures of β- and α-Sn nanoparticles are studied using density functional theory. Results show that β-Sn nanoparticles are more stable. For both phases of Sn, nanoparticles smaller than 1 nm (~48 atoms) are amorphous and have a band gap between 0.4 and 0.7 eV. The formation of band gap is found to be due to amorphization. By increasing the size of Sn nanoparticles (1-2.4 nm),...

The electromagnetic and microwave absorbing properties of nickel ferrite nanocrystals were investigated for the first time. There were two frequencies corresponding to the maximum reflection loss in a wide thickness range from 3.0 to 5.0 mm, which may be bought by the nanosize effect and the good crystallization of the nanocrystals.

Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose. It has long been obtained as a by-product of cellulose production in pulp and paper production, but had rather low added-value applications. A changing paper market and the emergence of biorefinery projects should generate vast amounts of lignin with the potential of value addition. Nanomaterials offer unique properties and the prep...

We explore a kinetically controlled strategy to suppress the gelation in the homopolymerization of multi-vinyl monomers (MVMs) via RAFT polymerization. We report the generation of 3D single cyclized polymer structures from the RAFT process, which significantly contradicts the classic F-S theory. This approach enables synthesis of a new generation of nanosize macromolecular architectures.