Nanocellulose fiber materials were considered promising biomaterials due to their excellent biodegradability, biocompatibility, high hydrophilicity, and cost-effectiveness. However, their low proton conductivity significantly limited their application as proton exchange membranes. The methods previously reported to increase their proton conductivity often introduced non-biodegradable groups and compounds, which resulted in the loss of the basic advantages of this natural polymer in terms of biodegradability. In this work, a green and sustainable strategy was developed to prepare cellulose-based proton exchange membranes that could simultaneously meet sustainability and high-performance criteria. Adenine and thymine were introduced onto the surface of tempo-oxidized nanocellulose fibers (TOCNF) to provide many transition sites for proton conduction. Once modified, the proton conductivity of the TOCNF membrane increased by 31.2 times compared to the original membrane, with a specific surface area that had risen from 6.1 m²/g to 86.5 m²/g. The wet strength also increased. This study paved a new path for the preparation of environmentally friendly membrane materials that could replace the commonly used non-degradable ones, highlighting the potential of nanocellulose fiber membrane materials in sustainable applications such as fuel cells, supercapacitors, and solid-state batteries.
Keywords: adenine; proton exchange membrane; tempo-oxidized cellulose nanofibers; thymine.