REVERSIBLE SUPRAMOLECULAR ASSEMBLY IN BIOPOLYMER COMPOSITES

PhD defence by Enrico Boschi

Assessment Committee

Professor Serafim Bakalis, Food Science, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Professor Véronique Michaud, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Professor Anders Egede Daugaard, DTU

Supervisors

Professor Peter Bjarne Ulvskov
Associate Professor Gustav Nyström

Department

Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Place

Building: Festauditoriet A1, Room: 01.01, Bülowsvej 17, 1870 Copenhagen

Email address to gain access to the thesis: boschienrico@proton.me.
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Short description of the thesis

This thesis investigated how different biopolymer fractions in sugar beet biomass can be used to design functional materials by leveraging supramolecular interactions. Cellulose, a major biopolymer in sugar beet pulp, was extracted to study methods to prevent hornification during drying by adding sugar beet pectin before drying. Cellulose nanocrystals were also used to reinforce and produce a reprocessable bio-vitrimer with high cellulose content and adhesive properties. Finally, proteins were converted into amyloid nanofibrils and used to produce a printable ink containing metal particles, enabling printed structures that could eventually be sintered into complex metallic structures.