Faridah Namata

Physical and Chemical modifications of cellulose fibers with dendritic materials generating a novel material with tunable properties.

Cellulose fibers is a class of materials with intriguing templating capabilities. This is strongly correlated to their high aspect ratio, porous macroscopic structure and large number of reactive groups available for site-specific functionalization. However, robust modification strategies that maximizes their performance are still in their infancy. In this project, we undertake the challenge of unfolding new modification strategies that enable efficient hybridization, both physical and chemical, with functional probes being oligomers and synthetic polymers. Notably, cutting-edge probes are designed to go beyond multiple representation of functional groups of similar nature. Such scaffolds, typically have the capacity of displaying function of heterogeneous character and elevate the wood fibre performance to new grounds.