Synergistic toughening of bio-inspired molybdenum disulfide-chitosan lignocellulosic nacre with photocatalytic properties

The concept of replicating the laminated ternary structure of natural nacre with coordinating strength and toughness has generated much interest in exploring future structural materials. Here the ternary lignocellulosic nacre with high performance is fabricated via synergistic toughening of delignified nano-lignocellulose (DNLC) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) through freezing-induced assembly followed by hot-pressing process. The high mechanical performance of the lignocellulosic nacre due to lubrication of MoS2 combine with intermolecular hydrogen bonding between DNLC and chitosan (CS) has effectively verified the synergistic toughening effect. The MoS2-CS lignocellulosic nacre exhibits an exceptional balance of strength and toughness, which exceed to other conventional lignocellulosic composites and natural materials. Furthermore, these composites show superior photocatalytic activity. This approach of fabricating the MoS2-CS lignocellulosic nacre supplies an imaginative door in the near future for devising and manufacturing the ultra-strong and ultra-tough lignocellulosic nacre for the photooxidation of volatile organic.