Sustainable\nHigh-Performance Structural Materials\nfrom Micro/nanostructured Corn Stover

Corn stover, as an abundant agricultural residue, has\nnot been\nwell reutilized due to the lack of efficient utilization methods.\nBased on micro/nanoscale structure design of corn stover, we report\nan environmentally friendly strategy to prepare micro/nanostructured\ncorn stover-based building blocks. Then, through the directed deformation\nassembly approach, a high value-added corn stover structural material\n(CSSM) that with higher strength and more excellent thermal stability\nthan most widely used plastics and wood-plastic composites can be\nprepared. The entire production process is green and economical, and\nthe life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicate that it is a low-carbon\nemission, sustainable material. Moreover, CSSM can be composed with\nnanoscale building blocks to achieve multifunctionality. For example,\nby incorporating carbon nanotubes, we prepare a corn stover structural\nmaterial with Joule-heating effects for indoor thermal management.\nThis broadens the range of applications for corn stover-based structural\nmaterials.