Abstract
Shape-persistent and tough cellulose hydrogels were fabricated by a stepwise solvent exchange from a homogeneous ionic liquid solution of cellulose exposure to methanol vapor. The cellulose hydrogels maintain their shapes under changing temperature, pH, and solvents. The micrometer-scale patterns on the mold were precisely transferred onto the surface of cellulose hydrogels. We also succeeded in the spinning of cellulose hydrogel fibers through a dry jet-wet spinning process. The mechanical property of regenerated cellulose fibers improved by the drawing of cellulose hydrogel fibers during the spinning process. This approach for the fabrication of tough cellulose hydrogels is a major advance in the fabrication of cellulose-based structures with defined shapes.
Highlights
Shape-persistent and tough cellulose hydrogels were fabricated by a stepwise solvent exchange from a homogeneous ionic liquid solution of cellulose exposure to methanol vapor
Since the report on the dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids (ILs) by Swatloski et al.[3], various ILs have been developed as non-derivatizing solvents for cellulose[4,5,6,7,8]
Cellulose gels are prepared through chemical crosslinking of cellulose derivatives or self-assembling of cellulose nanofibers, hydrogels prepared from homogeneous cellulose solutions are rare[14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]
Summary
Shape-persistent and tough cellulose hydrogels were fabricated by a stepwise solvent exchange from a homogeneous ionic liquid solution of cellulose exposure to methanol vapor. The mechanical property of regenerated cellulose fibers improved by the drawing of cellulose hydrogel fibers during the spinning process. This approach for the fabrication of tough cellulose hydrogels is a major advance in the fabrication of cellulose-based structures with defined shapes. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels can be formed through physical aggregation of polymer chains caused by hydrogen bonds, crystallization, helix formation, and complexation. Regenerated cellulose hydrogels were prepared from cellulose IL solution in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride[23,24] The regenerated cellulose materials contain unique hydrogen-bonded supramolecular structures[25]
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