Abstract
Rheological behavior of mixtures containing nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) and alginate was studied. A shear-thinning behavior was observed in all samples, which was progressively enhanced as a function of CNC and alginate concentrations. Electrostatic interactions between anionic alginate chains and anionic CNC rods promote physical gelation at small CNC concentrations (4wt%), resulting in soft gels with pronounced shear-thinning and solid-like behavior. Next, hydrogels were obtained using the internal gelation method, and the crosslinking kinetics were monitored by time sweep tests. The experimental data were well described by a modified Hill equation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed in order to analyze the hydrogen bonding interactions that occur between CNC rods and alginate chains, and the alginate ionic crosslinking.
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