Revisiting the Dissolution of Cellulose in NaOH as “Seen” by X-rays
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Division of Physical Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
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Division Materials and Production, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, 431 53 Mölndal, Sweden
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KIRAM AB, Norra Villavägen 17, 237 34 Bjärred, Sweden
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2020, 12(2), 342; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020342
Received: 12 December 2019
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Revised: 16 January 2020
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Accepted: 19 January 2020
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Published: 5 February 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose and Renewable Materials)
Cotton production is reaching a global limit, leading to a growing demand for bio-based textile fibers produced by other means. Textile fibers based on regenerated cellulose from wood holds great potential, but in order to produce fibers, the components need to be dissolved in suitable solvents. Furthermore, the dissolution process of cellulose is not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated the dissolution state of microcrystalline cellulose in aqueous NaOH by using primarily scattering methods. Contrary to previous findings, this study indicated that cellulose concentrations of up to 2 wt % are completely molecularly dissolved in 8 wt % NaOH. Scattering data furthermore revealed the presence of semi-flexible cylinders with stiff segments. In order to improve the dissolution capability of NaOH, the effects of different additives have been of interest. In this study, scattering data indicated that the addition of ZnO decreased the formation of aggregates, while the addition of PEG did not improve the dissolution properties significantly, although preliminary NMR data did suggest a weak attraction between PEG and cellulose. Overall, this study sheds further light on the dissolution of cellulose in NaOH and highlights the use of scattering methods to assess solvent quality.
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Keywords:
cellulose dissolution; microcrystalline cellulose (MCC); cold alkali (NaOH); ZnO; poly(ethylene glycole) (PEG); small-angle X-ray-scattering (SAXS); static light scattering (SLS)
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MDPI and ACS Style
Martin-Bertelsen, B.; Andersson, E.; Köhnke, T.; Hedlund, A.; Stigsson, L.; Olsson, U. Revisiting the Dissolution of Cellulose in NaOH as “Seen” by X-rays. Polymers 2020, 12, 342. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020342
AMA Style
Martin-Bertelsen B, Andersson E, Köhnke T, Hedlund A, Stigsson L, Olsson U. Revisiting the Dissolution of Cellulose in NaOH as “Seen” by X-rays. Polymers. 2020; 12(2):342. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020342
Chicago/Turabian StyleMartin-Bertelsen, Birte, Erika Andersson, Tobias Köhnke, Artur Hedlund, Lars Stigsson, and Ulf Olsson. 2020. "Revisiting the Dissolution of Cellulose in NaOH as “Seen” by X-rays" Polymers 12, no. 2: 342. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020342
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