Scott Renneckar | Faculty Profile

Research Areas:

Bio-based Nanomaterials, Bio-products, Carbohydrate Chemistry, Cellulose Nanocrystals, Chemistry, Forest Biorefineries, Nanocellulose, Polymer Chemistry, Sustainability, Wood Science

Research
Publications

Dr. Scott Renneckar investigates the molecular structure and reactions of wood to transform trees and recycled fiber into novel materials that will serve as a platform for the bioeconomy. Critical to this transformation is the application of fundamental polymer science principles to the characterization, processing, and performance of the biopolymers and biobased composites. His research group’s goal is to apply novel processing methods to create petroleum free composites for the next generation of advanced renewable materials from Canadian forests and fields.

Projects

Lignin— Fibre spinning, characterization, derivatization, structure-property relationships, thermoplastics, thermosets, foams, aerogels

Heteropolysaccharides— sustainable packaging, crystallization, nanotechnology

Nanocellulose— new technologies

Biomass Deconstruction + Fractionation–Oxidative or reductive catalytic fractionation, organosolv pulping, steam-explosion, glycerol thermal processing

Selected Publications

Ji, L., L. Liu, M. Cho, M. A. Karaaslan, & S. Renneckar (2022). Revisiting the Molar Mass and Conformation of Derivatized Fractionated Softwood Kraft Lignin BIomacromolecules 23(3):708–719

Kim, D., A. Bahi, L. Liu, T. Bement, S. Rogak, S. Renneckar, F. Ko & P. Mehrkhodavandi (2022). Poly (Lactide)-Modified Lignin Nanofibers: Investigating the Role of Polymer Tacticity on Fiber Properties and Filtration Efficiency ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 10(8):2772-2783

Cho, M., M. A. Karaaslan, & S. Renneckar (2022). Simple Strategies for Enhancement of the Strength of Lignin‐Based Nanofibrous Aerogels Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 2200052

Karaaslan, M.A., L. Lin, F. Ko & S. Renneckar (2022). Carbon Aerogels From Softwood Kraft Lignin for High Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes Frontiers in Materials 9

Levy-Booth, D.J, L. E. Navas, M. M. Fetherolf, L. Liu, T. Dalhuisen, S. Renneckar, L. D. Eltis, & W. Mohn (2022). Discovery of lignin-transforming bacteria and enzymes in thermophilic environments using stable isotope probing ISME Journal

Navas, L. E., G. Dexter, J. Liu, D. Levy-Booth, M. Cho, S. Jang, S. D. Mansfield, S. Renneckar, W. W. Mohn, & L. D. Eltis (2021). Bacterial Transformation of Aromatic Monomers in Softwood Black Liquor Frontiers in Microbiology 2539

de Vries, L., Guevara Rozo, S., Cho, M., Liu, L-Y., Renneckar, S., Mansfield, S.D. (2021). Tailoring renewable materials via plant biotechnology Biotechnology for Biofuels 14(1):1-33

Liu, L., M. A. Karaaslan, Q. Hua, M. Cho, S. Chen, & S.Renneckar (2021). Thermo-Responsive Shape-Memory Polyurethane Foams from Renewable Lignin Resources with Tunable Structures–Properties and Enhanced Temperature Resistance Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 60(32):11882-11892

Chen, Y., Z. Yu, H. Oguzlu, J. Jiang, M. Cho, M.A. Karaaslan, S. Renneckar & F. Jiang, (2021). Superelastic and flexible 3D printed waterborne polyurethane/cellulose nanofibrils structures Additive Manufacturing 46:102107

Xu, C., L. Liu, S. Renneckar & F. Jiang (2021). Chemically and physically crosslinked lignin hydrogels with antifouling and antimicrobial properties Industrial Crops and Products 170:113759

Liu, L., S. Chen, L. Ji, S. Jang, & S. Renneckar (2021). One-pot route to convert technical lignin into versatile lignin esters for tailored bioplastics and sustainable materials Green Chemistry 23(12), 4567-4579

Tulaphol, S., D. Yelle, S. Renneckar, & N. Sathitsuksanoh (2021). Enhancing cellulose accessibility to cellulase by ionic liquid pretreatment: interplay between cellulose accessibility and glucan digestibility Encyclopedia of ionic liquids / Springer

Karaaslan, M. A., M. Cho, L. Liu, H. Wang, & S. Renneckar (2021). Refining the Properties of Softwood Kraft Lignin with Acetone: Effect of Solvent Fractionation on the Thermomechanical Behavior of Electrospun Fibers ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 9(1):458-470

Hossain, Md A., M. S. Rahaman, D. Yelle, H. Shang, Z.Sun, S. Renneckar, J. Dong, S. Tulaphol, & N. Sathitsuksanoh (2021). Effects of polyol-based deep eutectic solvents on the efficiency of rice straw enzymatic hydrolysis Industrial Crops and Products 167: 113480

Levy-Booth, D. J., A. Hashimi, R. Roccor, L. Liu, S. Renneckar, L. D. Eltis, & W. W. Mohn (2021). Genomics and metatranscriptomics of biogeochemical cycling and degradation of lignin-derived aromatic compounds in thermal swamp sediment The ISME Journal 15(3): 879-893

Zhao, H., C.F. Li, L. Liu, B. Palma, Z. Hu, S. Renneckar, S. Larter, Y. Li, Md G. Kibria, J. Hu, & B. L. Su (2021). np Heterojunction of TiO2-NiO core-shell structure for efficient hydrogen generation and lignin photoreforming Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 585 (2021): 694-704

Liu, L., K. Bessler, S. Chen, M. Cho, Q. Hua, & S. Renneckar (2021). In-situ real-time monitoring of hydroxyethyl modification in obtaining uniform lignin derivatives European Polymer Journal 142: 110082

Liu, L., K. Bessler, S. Chen, M. Cho, Q. Hua, & S. Renneckar (2020). Data on making uniform lignin building blocks via in-situ real-time monitoring of hydroxyethyl modification Data in Brief 33: 106512

Cho, M., L. Ji, L. Liu, A. Johnson, S. Potter, S. Mansfield & S. Renneckar (2020). High performance electrospun carbon nanofiber mats derived from flax lignin Industrial Crops and Products 155:112833

Wu, J., R. Chandra, M. Takada, P. Del Rio, K. H. Kim, C. Kim, L. Liu, S. Renneckar, & J. Saddler (2020). Alkaline sulfonation and thermomechanical pulping pretreatment of softwood chips and pellets to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis Bioresource Technology 315:123789

Wu, J., R.P. Chandra, M. Takada, L. Liu, S. Renneckar, K. H. Kim, C.S. Kim, & J. N. Saddler (2020). Enhancing enzyme-mediated cellulose hydrolysis by incorporating acid groups onto the lignin during biomass pretreatment Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 8:608835

Liu, L. Y., Patankar, S. C., Chandra, R. P., Sathitsuksanoh, N., Saddler, J. N., & Renneckar, S. (2020). Valorization of Bark Using Ethanol–Water Organosolv Treatment: Isolation and Characterization of Crude Lignin ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 8(12), 4745-4754

Hossain, A., Rahaman, M.S., Lee, D., Phung, T.K., Canlas, C.G., Simmons, B.A., Renneckar, S., Reynolds, W., George, A., Tulaphol, S. and Sathitsuksanoh, N. (2020). Enhanced Softwood Cellulose Accessibility by H3PO4 Pretreatment: High Sugar Yield without Compromising Lignin Integrity Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 59(2), 1010-1024

Tulaphol, S., Hossain, M.A., Rahaman, M.S., Liu, L.Y., Phung, T.K., Renneckar, S., Grisdanurak, N. and Sathitsuksanoh, N. (2020). Direct Production of Levulinic Acid in One Pot from Hemp Hurd by Dilute Acid in Ionic Liquids Energy & Fuels 34, 2, 1764-1772

Cho, M., Ko, F. K., & Renneckar, S. (2019). Molecular Orientation and Organization of Technical Lignin-Based Composite Nanofibers and Films Biomacromolecules 20(12), 4485-4493

Hua, Q., L.Y. Liu, M. Karaaslan, & S. Renneckar (2019). Aqueous dispersions of esterified lignin particles for hydrophobic coatings Frontiers in Chemistry 7, 515

Duan, J., M. A. Karaaslan, M. Cho, L. Liu, A. M. Johnson, & S. Renneckar (2019). Investigation into electrospinning water-soluble xylan: from highly absorbent and hydrophilic surfaces to carbonized fiber Cellulose 26:413-427

Patankar, S. C., L. Y. Liu, L. Ji, S. Ayakar, V. Yadav, & S. Renneckar (2019). Isolation of phenolic monomers from kraft lignin using a magnetically recyclable TEMPO nanocatalyst Green Chemistry 21:785-791

Cho, M., F. Ko, & S. Renneckar (2019). The impact of thermal oxidative stabilization on the performance of lignin-based carbon nanofiber mats ACS Omega 4(3):5345-5355

Patankar, S.C., S. Ayakar, S. Renneckar, & V.G. Yadav (2019). The V-factor: Towards a new metric for gauging the efficiency & profitability of manufacturing processes for the bioeconomy BioProducts Business 4 (6): 63-76

Kevin Aïssa, Muzaﬀer A. Karaaslan, Scott Renneckar, Jack N. Saddler (2019). Functionalizing Cellulose Nanocrystals with Click Modiﬁable Carbohydrate-Binding Modules Biomacromolecules 20 (8), 3087-3093

Liu, L, Q. Hua, & S. Renneckar (2019). A simple route to synthesize esterified lignin derivatives Green Chemistry 2:3682-3692

E Johan Foster, Robert J Moon, Umesh P Agarwal, Michael J Bortner, Julien Bras, Sandra Camarero-Espinosa, Kathleen J Chan, Martin JD Clift, Emily D Cranston, Stephen J Eichhorn, Douglas M Fox, Wadood Y Hamad, Laurent Heux, Bruno Jean, Matthew Korey, Kimberly J Ong, Michael S Reid, Scott Renneckar, Rose Roberts, Jo Anne Shatkin, John Simonsen, Kelly Stinson-Bagby, Nandula Wanasekara, Jeff Youngblood (2018). Current characterization methods for cellulose nanomaterials Chemical Society Reviews 47, 2609-2679

Jinguang Hu, Dong Tian, Scott Renneckar, Jack N Saddler (2018). Enzyme mediated nanofibrillation of cellulose by the synergistic actions of an endoglucanase, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) and xylanase Scientific Reports 8: 3195

Mijung Cho, Muzaffer Karaaslan, Sudip Chowdhury, Frank Ko, Scott Renneckar (2018). Skipping oxidative thermal stabilization for lignin-based carbon nanofibers ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 6(5)6434-6444

Dong, T., J. Hu, S. Renneckar, & J. Saddler (2018). Enhancing bacterial cellulose production via adding mesoporous halloysite nanotubes in the culture medium Carbohydrate Polymers 198:191-196

Cho, M., M. Karaaslan, H. Wang, & S. Rennecka (2018). Greener transformation of lignin into ultralight multifunctional materials Journal of Materials Chemistry, A 6(42):20973-20981

Liu, L., M. Cho, N. Sathitsuksanoh, S. Chowdury, and S. Renneckar (2018). Uniform chemical functionality of technical lignin using ethylene carbonate for hydroxyethylation and subsequent greener esterification ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 6(9)12251-12260

Tang, R., Z. Yu, S. Renneckar, & Y. Zhang (2018). Coupling Chitosan and TEMPO-oxidized Nanofibrilliated Cellulose by Electrostatic Attraction and Chemical Reaction Carbohydrate Polymers 202:84-90

Cho, M., M. Karaaslan, S. Renneckar, & F. Ko (2017). Enhancement of the mechanical properties of electrospun lignin-based nanofibers by heat treatment Journal of Materials Science 52 (16), 9602-9614

Li, Z., Sathitsuksanoh, N., Zhang, W., Goodell, B. & Renneckar, S. (2017). Towards an understanding of cellulose microfibril dimensions from TEMPO oxidized pulp fiber

Sathitsuksanoh, N. & S. Renneckar (2017). Characterization Methods and Techniques Renewable Biomaterials: First Principles and Concepts, Wiley & Sons

Birkett,G.S., S. Sicoli, L. Horvath, E. J. Foster, Y. T. Kim, S. Renneckar, and B. Goodell (2017). Investigation of nanofibrillated cellulose for hydrophobic packaging material: examining alternatives to solvent exchange and lyophilization Bioresources

Zhang, W.; N. Sathitsuksanoh; J. R. Barone, S. Renneckar (2016). Enhanced enzymatic saccharification of pretreated biomass using glycerol thermal processing (GTP) Bioresource technology (199)148-154

Pillai, K.V. & S. Renneckar (2016). Dynamic mechanical analysis of layer-by-layer cellulose nanocomposites Industrial crops and products 93, 267-275.

Zhang, W.; J.R. Barone &S. Renneckar (2016). Reducing the heterogeneity of xylan through processing Carbohydrate Polymers 150, 250-258

Singh, G., Chandoha-Lee, C., Zhang, W., Renneckar, S., Vikesland, P. J., & Pruden, A. (2016). Biodegradation of nanocrystalline cellulose by two environmentally-relevant consortia Water Research 104:137146.

Zhang, W.; N. Sathsitsuksanoh; B. Simmons, C. Frazier; J. Barone; & S. Renneckar (2016). Revealing the thermal sensitivity of lignin during glycerol thermal processing through structural analysis RSC Advances (36)30234-30246

Haghdan, S. S. Renneckar G.D. Smith (2015). Sources of Lignin Elsevier, Oxford, United Kingdom In O. Faruk & M. Sain (Eds.), Lignin-based Polymer Composites, 1st Edition., Elsevier, Oxford, United Kingdom, pp. 1-11.

Wei, H.; K. Rodriguez; S. Renneckar; W. Leng; & P. Vikesland (2015). Preparation and evaluation of nanocellulose–gold nanoparticle nanocomposites for SERS applications Analyst 140(16), 5640-5649

Dolan, J.A.; N. Sathitsuksanoh; K. Rodriguez; B. A. Simmons; C. E. Frazier; S. & Renneckar (2015). Biocomposite adhesion without added resin: understanding the chemistry of the direct conversion of wood into adhesives RSC Advances (82)67267-67276

Zhang, W.; J. Barone; & S. Renneckar (2015). Biomass fractionation after denaturing cell walls by glycerol thermal processing ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 3 (3):413–420.

Sathitsuksanoh, N.; M. Sawant; Q. Troung; J. Tran; C. Canlas; N. Sun; W. Zhang; S. Renneckar; T. Prasomsri; J. Shi; O. Cetinkol; S. Singh; B. A. Simmons; & A. George (2015). How alkyl chain length of alcohols affects lignin fractionation and ionic liquid recycle during lignocellulose pretreatment BioEnergy Research 8:973-981

Rodríguez, K.; J. Sundberg; P. Gatenholm; & S. Renneckar (2014). Electrospun nanofibrous cellulose scaffolds with controlled microarchitecture Carbohydrate Polymers 100(16) :143–149.

Gao, S.; C. You; S. Renneckar; J. Bao; & Y-H P. Zhang. (2014). New Insights into Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Heterogeneous Cellulose by using Cellulose-Binding Module-3 containing GFP and Cellulose-Binding Module 17-containing CFP Biotechnology for Biofuels 7:24.

Bosmans, T.; A. Stépán; G. Toriz; S. Renneckar; E. Karabulut; L. Wagberg; & P. Gatenholm. (2014). Assembly of Debranched Xylan from Solution and on Nanocellulosic Surfaces Biomacromolecules, 15 (3):924–930.

Pillai, K.; F. Navarro; W. Zhang; & S. Renneckar (2014). Towards biomimicking wood: Fabricated free-standing films of nanocellulose, lignin, and a synthetic polycation Journal of Visualized Experiments, 17(88):doi: 10.3791/51257

Wei, H.; K. Rodriguez; S. Renneckar; & P. Vikesland. (2014). Environmental science and engineering applications of nanocellulose-based nanocomposites Environmental Science: Nano, 1:302-316.

Renneckar S. (2013). State of the Art Paper: Biomimetics: Adapting performance and function of natural materials for biobased composites Wood and Fiber Science, 45(1):3-14.

Haupt, R. A., & S. Renneckar (2013). Chemical shifts of phenolic monomers in solution and implications for addition and self-condensation Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, 51(2), 95-101.

Lin, Z.; W. Zhang; & S. Renneckar. (2013). Impact of clay nanoparticles on glutaraldehyde crosslinked fiber composites Journal of Materials Science, 48(17):5983-5989.

Li, Q.; S. McGinnis; A. Wong; S. Cutter; & S. Renneckar. (2013). Nanocellulose life cycle assessment ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 1(18):919-928.

Zhang, W.; R.K. Johnson; Z. Lin; C. Chandoha-Lee; A. Zink-Sharp; & S. Renneckar. (2013). In situ generated cellulose nanoparticles to enhance the hydrophobicity of paper Cellulose, 20(6):2935-2945.

Rodriguez, K.; P. Gatenholm; & S. Renneckar. (2012). Electrospinning cellulosic nanofibers for biomedical applications: Structure and in vitro biocompatibility Cellulose 19(5):1583-1598.

Li, Q. & S. Renneckar. (2011). Supramolecular structure characterization of molecularly thin cellulose I nanoparticles Biomacromolecules 12(3):650-659.

Lin, Z & S. Renneckar (2011). Nanocomposite--based lignocellulosic fibers 3. Polyelectrolyte adsorption onto heterogeneous fiber surfaces Cellulose 18(3):563-574.

Rodriguez, K.; S. Renneckar; & P. Gatenholm (2011). Biomimetic calcium phosphate crystal mineralization on electrospun cellulose-based scaffolds ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 3(3):681-689.

Lin, Z. & S. Renneckar (2011). Nanocomposite-based lignocellulosic fibers 2. Layer-by-layer modification of wood fibers as reinforcement in thermoplastic composite Composites, Part A 42(1):84-91.

Eichhorn, S. J.; A. Dufresne; M. Aranguren; N. E. Marcovich; J. R. Capadona; S. J. Rowan; C.Weder; W. Thielemans; M. Roman; S. Renneckar; W. Gindl; S. Veigel; J. Keckes; H. Yano; K. Abe; M. Nogi; A. N. Nakagaito; A. Mangalam; J. Simonsen; S. A. Benight; A. Bismarck; L. A. Berglund; & T. Peijs (2010). Review: Current International Research into Cellulose Nanofibres and Nanocomposites Journal of Materials Science 45(1):1-33.

Zhou, Y.; S. Renneckar; Q. Li; K. Pillai; Z. Lin; & W.T. Church (2010). Layer-by-layer bondlines for macroscale adhesion Bioresources 5(3):1530-1541.

Li, Z.; S. Renneckar; & J. Barone (2010). Nanocomposites prepared by in-situ enzymatic polymerization of phenol with TEMPO-oxidized nanocellulose Cellulose 17(1):57-68.

Li, Q. & S. Renneckar (2009). Molecularly thin nanoparticles from cellulose: Isolation of submicrofibrillar structures Cellulose 16(6):1025-1032

Johnson, R.K.; A. Zink-Sharp; S. Renneckar; & W.G. Glasser (2009). A new bio-based nanocomposite: Fibrillated TEMPO-oxidized celluloses in hydroxypropylcellulose matrix Cellulose 16(2):227-238

Pillai, K.V. & S. Renneckar (2009). Cation-pi interactions as a mechanism in technical lignin adsorption to cationic surfaces Biomacromolecules 10(4):798-804.

Renneckar, S. & Y. Zhou (2009). Nanoscale coatings on wood: Polyelectrolyte adsorption and layer-by-layer assembled film formation ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 1(3):559-566.

Johnson, R.K., A. Zink-Sharp, S. Renneckar, & W.G. Glasser (2008). Mechanical properties of wetlaid lyocell and hybrid fiber-reinforced composites with polypropylene Composites, Part A 39(3) 470-477.

Lin, Z.; S. Renneckar; & D. P. Hindman (2008). Nanocomposite-based lignocellulosic fibers 1. Thermal stability of modified fibers with clay-polyelectrolyte multilayers Cellulose 15(2):333-346

Renneckar, S.; A. Zink-Sharp; & W.G. Glasser (2007). Fiber modification by steam-explosion: Microscopic analysis of co-refined wood and polypropylene IAWA Journal 28(1):13-27

Renneckar, S.; A.G. Zink-Sharp; & W.G. Glasser (2006). Fiber surface modification by steam-explosion: Sorption studies with co-refined wood and polyolefins Wood and Fiber Science 38(3):427-438

Renneckar, S.; A. Zink-Sharp; A.R. Esker; R.K. Johnson; & W.G. Glasser (2006). Novel methods for interfacial modification of cellulose-reinforced composites American Chemical Society, Washington DC. In Cellulose Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization, and Properties. 938:78-96.

Renneckar, S.; R. K. Johnson; A.G. Zink-Sharp; & W.G. Glasser. (2005). Fiber modification by steam-explosion: 13C NMR and dynamic mechanical analysis studies of co-refined wood and polypropylene Composite Interfaces 12(6):559-580.

Gradwell, S. E.; S. Renneckar; A. R. Esker; T. Heinze; P. Gatenholm; C. Vaca-Garcia; & W. G. Glasser (2004). Surface modification of cellulose fibers: towards wood composites by biomimetics Comptes Rendus Biologies 327(9-10):945-953.

Renneckar, S.; A.G. Zink-Sharp; T.C. Ward; & W.G. Glasser. (2004). Compositional Analysis of Thermoplastic Wood Composites by TGA

Esker, A.R., U. Becker, S. Jamin, S. Renneckar, & W. Glasser (2004). Self-assembly behavior of some co- and heteropolysaccharides related to hemicelluloses American Chemical Society, Washington DC. In Hemicelluloses: Science and Technology, 864:198-219.