LAUSR

Widely used disposable plastic tableware is usually buried or directly discharged into the natural environment after using, which poses potential threats to the natural environment and human health. To solve this problem, the non-degradable plastic tableware needs to be replaced by the tableware composing of biodegradable structural materials with both the food safety and the excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Here, a food-safe sargassum cellulose nanofiber (SCNF) is extracted from the common seaweed in an efficient and low energy consuming way under mild reaction conditions. Then, by assembling the SCNF into a dense bulk material, a strong sargassum cellulose nanofiber structural material (SCNSM) with high strength (283 MPa) and high thermal stability (>160°C) can be prepared. The SCNSM also possess good machinability, which can be processed into tableware with different shapes, e.g., knives and forks. The overall performance of the SCNSM-based tableware is better than commercial plastic, wood-based, and poly(lactic acid) tableware, which shows great application potential in the tableware field. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.