Abstract
In this paper, ionic liquid treatment was applied to produce nanometric cellulose particles of two polymorphic forms. A complex characterization of nanofillers including wide-angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and particle size determination was performed. The evaluated ionic liquid treatment was effective in terms of nanocrystalline cellulose production, leaving chemical and supermolecular structure of the materials intact. However, nanocrystalline cellulose II was found to be more prone to ionic liquid hydrolysis leading to formation larger amount of small particles. Each nanocrystalline cellulose was subsequently mixed with a solution of chitosan, so that composite films containing 1, 3, and 5% mass/mass of nanometric filler were obtained. Reference samples of chitosan and chitosan with micrometric celluloses were also solvent casted. Thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of films were tested and correlated with properties of filler used. The results of both, tensile tests and thermogravimetric analysis showed a significant discrepancy between composites filled with nanocrystalline cellulose I and nanocrystalline cellulose II.
Highlights
Developing technologies for manufacturing of functional and advanced material put a growing pressure on production of materials with defined and unique properties
Since the Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) pattern for cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) II exhibits not peaks coming from native cellulose, it is apparent that alkali treatment was successful and 100% of C I was transformed into cellulose II (C II)
It is consistent with the literature that reports that NaOH concentrations higher than 10% are responsible for mercerization of cellulose I and its transformation into cellulose II [41]
Summary
Developing technologies for manufacturing of functional and advanced material put a growing pressure on production of materials with defined and unique properties. Nanocrystals of cellulose or whiskers are characterized with Young modulus in the range from 130 to 145 GPa [1] Great interest in such materials is caused by their interesting and unique properties. Advantages of nanometric cellulose are connected with its physical and chemical properties or its susceptibility to degradation and with its high biocompatibility and availability, renewability of raw material, and sustainable growth. It is used in aerogels, adhesive materials or as an additive for shape memory segmented polyurethanes modifying its thermal properties [4, 5]. Nanometric cellulose is most commonly produced by mechanical treatment or traditional
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