Abstract
Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have been exploited for different applications, such as nanocomposites, gas separation, flexible electronics, and fuel cells, due to their unique properties. To fulfill different demands regarding the utilization of CNFs, one critical step is to develop strong and tough CNF composites. In this study, facile synthesis of strong and tough nanocellulose films was demonstrated using a strategy that employs the synergetic effect of hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions in the films. With the addition of chitosan (CS) and copper ion (Cu2+), the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the newly developed film (CNF-CS-Cu) increased by 104% and 75%, respectively; more impressively, the toughness of CNF-CS-Cu improved by 560% compared to pure CNF. The hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions in the films were verified by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results confirmed that the combination of hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions could yield much better performance in nanocellulose films. The development of facile, low-cost, scalable, and ecofriendly processing methods and formulations for the fabrication of strong nanocellulose-based films are essential and would significantly impact widespread utilization of such materials for a variety of applications requiring high performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14341-14346 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 17 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 3 2019 |
Funding
Research is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. This paper has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. DOE. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this paper or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). Microscopy and spectroscopy studies were completed at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. Authors thank Dr. Harry Meyer for his help on XPS measurement and Rick R. Lowden for the access of mechanical test.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. DOE | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Advanced Manufacturing Office | DE-AC05-00OR22725 |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy |
Keywords
- Cellulose nanofibrils
- Hydrogen bond
- Ionic interaction
- Strong and tough
- Synergetic effect
