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A new bio-based nanocomposite: fibrillated TEMPO-oxidized celluloses in hydroxypropylcellulose matrix

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Abstract

Utilization of TEMPO-oxidized celluloses in bio-based nanocomposites is reported for the first time. TEMPO-oxidized wood pulps (net carboxylate content 1.1 mmol/g cellulose) were fibrillated to varying degrees using a high intensity ultrasonic processor. The degree of fibrillation was controlled by varying sonication time from 1 to 20 min. The sonication products were then characterized independently and as fillers (5 wt% loading) in hydroxypropyl cellulose nanocomposite films. Nanofibril yields ranging from 11 to 98 wt% (on fiber weight basis) were obtained over the range of sonication times used. Suspension viscosities increased initially with sonication time, peaked with gel-like behavior at 10 min of sonication and then decreased with further sonication. The thermal degradation temperature of unfibrillated oxidized pulps was only minimally affected (6 °C decrease) by the fibrillation process. Dynamic mechanical analysis of the nanocomposites revealed strong fibril-matrix interactions as evidenced by remarkable storage modulus retention at high temperatures and a suppression of matrix glass transition at “high” (~5 wt%) nanofibril loadings. Creep properties likewise exhibited significant (order of magnitude) suppression of matrix flow at high temperatures. It was also believed, based on morphologies of freeze-fracture surfaces that the nanocomposites may be characterized by high fracture toughness. Direct fracture testing will however be necessary to verify this suspicion.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the USDA CSREES Special Grant No. 2006-06204 and the Sustainable Engineered Materials Institute, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 230 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0323, USA

    Richard K. Johnson

  2. Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 230 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0323, USA

    Audrey Zink-Sharp, Scott H. Renneckar & Wolfgang G. Glasser

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  1. Richard K. Johnson
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  2. Audrey Zink-Sharp
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  3. Scott H. Renneckar
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  4. Wolfgang G. Glasser
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Correspondence to Audrey Zink-Sharp.

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Johnson, R.K., Zink-Sharp, A., Renneckar, S.H. et al. A new bio-based nanocomposite: fibrillated TEMPO-oxidized celluloses in hydroxypropylcellulose matrix. Cellulose 16, 227–238 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-008-9269-6

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