Joice Kaschuk

Wageningen University & Research | WUR · Faculty of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences

This study investigates the stability of various cellulose substrates and their UV-blocking properties from the perspective of optoelectronic applications that are obliged to endure prolonged periods under sunlight. The application of cellulose substrates to optoelectronic applications, such as solar cells, has gained traction thanks to cellulose f...

Lignocellulosic fibers, such as sisal, have been considered a promising solution to increase sustainable energy production. These fibers can be converted into fermentable sugars to produce ethanol. Here, it was investigated how the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of sisal fibers can be improved by adding a biosurfactant. The action of sodium lig...

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions can self-assemble into chiral nematic films upon the slow evaporation of water. These films are brittle, as indicated by their fracturing instead of plastically deforming once they are fully elastically deformed. This aspect can be mediated to some extent by plasticizing additives, such as glucose and glycero...

We address the limited solubility and early onset of gelation of aqueous sodium hydroxide to position it as a preferred green solvent for cellulose. For this purpose, we expand the concentration window (up to 12 wt%) by using a CO2-depleted air and adjusting the time the dope remains in the given atmosphere, before further processing (holding time)...

Solar cell encapsulation literature is reviewed broadly in this paper. Commercial solar cells, such as silicon and thin film solar cells, are typically encapsulated with ethylene vinyl acetate polymer (EVA) layer and rigid layers (usually glass) and edge sealants. In our paper, we cover the encapsulation materials and methods of some emerging solar...

High-performance wearable sensors, especially resistive pressure and strain sensors, have shown to be promising approaches for the next generation of health monitoring. Besides being skin-friendly and biocompatible, the required features for such types of sensors are lightweight, flexible, and stretchable. Cellulose-based materials in their differe...

This review addresses the reconstruction of structural plant components (cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses) into materials displaying advanced optical properties. The strategies to isolate the main building blocks is discussed, and the effects of fibrillation, fibril alignment, densification, self‐assembly, surface‐patterning, and compositing are p...

We studied the surface and microstructure of cellulose acetate (CA) films to tailor their barrier and mechanical properties for application in electrochromic devices (ECDs). Cross-linking of CA was carried out with pyromellitic dianhydride to enhance the properties relative to unmodified CA: solvent resistance (by 43% in acetone and 37% in DMSO), s...

This study aimed to evaluate the production of cellulases from Aspergillus sp. CBMAI 1198, through solid-state fermentation, and their actions on different cellulosic materials (microcrystalline cellulose, sisal pulp, and filter paper). The influence of pH, temperature, and composition of substrates (sisal pulp and wheat straw), on the filter paper...

Electrospun nanofibers obtained from cellulose acetate before (CA) and after (DCA) deacetylation were used as electrolyte membranes in dye-sensitized solar cells. As holders of the active components of the device and compared to the reference system, the CA and DCA membranes increased the average device efficiency by as much as 14%. The membranes e...

The goal of this study was to investigate how the use of high concentration of cellulase may impact the properties of the substrate and the reaction medium during the enzymatic hydrolysis of the sisal pulp. Enzyme concentration of 0.9 mL g-1 was considered for hydrolysis of a sisal cellulosic substrate, and the results were compared with previous o...

Properties of cellulosic materials, such as average molar mass (MMvis), crystallinity index and hemicelluloses content may influence the efficiency of the enzymatic conversion of cellulose to glucose. Studies on the simultaneous influence of these parameters have been scarcely found in the literature. In the present study, the conversion of cellulo...

Enzymatic saccharification of sisal cellulosic pulp has been investigated. Brazil leads global production of lignocellulosic sisal fiber, which has high cellulose content, an important property for producing glucose via saccharification. Hence, sisal pulp can be a good alternative for use in biorefineries. Prior to enzymatic hydrolysis, the startin...

Surface-active compounds of microbial origin are more environmentally-friendly, biocompatible and biodegradable when compared with synthetic surfactants therefore, the market interest in such molecules is increasing; however, their production costs are not competitive to chemical surfactants. The use of low-cost substrates such cellulosic-based mat...

The present study evaluated the process of solution preparation, which is defined as a system presenting different substances, but with the same chemical composition and physical properties in all points of the solution. This type of system is very important, especially for chemistry, since the water has the ability to dissolve a wide variety of aq...