Structural analysis of mycelium composite for the production of wood-based carbon materials

Mycelium composite has attracted significant attention in the last two decades for its functionality and sustainability. While the mycelium formation is essential to the production of the composites, the fungal growth results in the decay of the cell wall structure, which is thought to be detrimental to the composite properties. Here, we utilize the wood decay to activate the biomass as a starting material for wood-based carbon materials. We expect that the wood decay will result in more porous cell wall structures, while the mycelium growth will contribute to the increase of nitrogen in the biomass due to the deposition of chitin as the main component of fungal cell walls. To examine the effects of fungal effects on the ultrastructure of wood, we will conduct a simultaneous S/WAXS experiment of mycelium composite. The results will provide insight into the structural changes and will contribute to designing of activation process of wood by fungal growth

过去二十年间，菌丝体复合材料（Mycelium composite）凭借其功能性与可持续性受到了广泛关注。尽管菌丝体的形成是该复合材料制备的核心环节，但真菌生长会导致细胞壁结构降解，这一现象被认为会对复合材料的性能产生不利影响。在此研究中，我们利用木材降解过程活化生物质，将其作为木质基碳材料的起始原料。我们预期，木材降解将赋予细胞壁更为多孔的结构，而由于作为真菌细胞壁主要成分的几丁质的沉积，菌丝体生长将提升生物质中的氮元素含量。为探究真菌作用对木材超微结构的影响，我们将开展菌丝体复合材料的同步小角/广角X射线散射（S/WAXS）实验。该实验结果将为解析结构变化提供理论视角，并助力开发基于真菌生长的木材活化工艺。