| 1. |
- Svensson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
-
Preparation of dry ultra-porous cellulosic fibres : Characterization and possible initial uses
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - 0144-8617. ; 92:1, s. 775-783
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dry ultra-porous cellulose fibres were obtained using a liquid exchange procedure in which water was replaced in the following order: water, methanol, acetone, and finally pentane: thereafter, the fibres were dried with Ar(g). The dry samples (of TEMPO-oxidized dissolving pulp) had a specific surface area of 130 m(2) g(-1) as measured using BET nitrogen gas adsorption. The open structure in the dry state was also revealed using field emission scanning electron microscopy. This dry open structure was used as a scaffold for in situ polymerization. Both poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(butylacrylate) were successfully used as matrix polymers for the composite material (fibre/polymer), comprising approximately 20 wt% fibres. Atomic force microscopy phase imaging indicated a nanoscale mixing of the matrix polymer and the cellulose fibril aggregates and this was also supported by mechanical testing of the prepared composite where the open fibre structure produced superior composites. The fibre/polymer composite had a significantly reduced water absorption capacity also indicating an efficient filling of the fibre structure with the matrix polymer.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Bruce, Carl, et al.
(författare)
-
A comparative study of covalent grafting and physical adsorption of PCL onto cellulose
- 2012
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A growing concern for the environment has, in the past years, directed the research towards a bigger focus on new “greener” materials, such as cellulose-reinforced options. Cellulose is the most abundant organic raw material in the world and it is a versatile material. However, to be able to use it in applications where it is not inherently compatible, a modification is often necessary.1-3 One common method to achieve this modification is to graft polymers onto/from the cellulose chain. This can change the inherent properties of cellulose to attain new properties, such as dimensional stability and water repellency.3 In addition to this, it has been shown that polyectrolytes can be physiosorbed onto charged surfaces.4 Due to this, it is possible to physically modify cellulose by adsorbing a polymer through electrostatic interactions instead of attaching it with a covalent bond.5However, a more detailed investigation concerning differences of covalent and physical attachment of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) onto cellulose, has to the author’s best knowledge not been performed. Therefore, this project aims to compare these two techniques. Covalently bonded PCL was grafted by surface-initiated ring opening polymerization (SI-ROP) from the cellulose. For the adsorption approach, a block copolymer consisting of PCL and a shorter segment of poly(di(methylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) was made combining ROP and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The PDMAEMA-part was then quaternized, which resulted in a cationically charged chain – a polyelectrolyte. This can then be used as an electrostatic linker allowing the PDMAEMA-PCL copolymer to be adsorbed onto the negatively charged cellulose model surface. Finally, differences between the two approaches are evaluated regarding for example surface coverage and grafting/physiosorption efficiency investigated with techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM).
|
|
| 4. |
- Bruce, Carl, et al.
(författare)
-
Comparative study of covalent grafting and physical adsorption of PCL on to cellulose
- 2012
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, an investigation concerning differences between covalent and physical attachment of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) to a nanocellulose modell surface was conducted. For the covalent attachment, ring-opening polymerization (ROP) was performed using the “grafting-from” approach, building the polymer from the surface. For the physical attachment, a block copolymer consisting of PCL and poly(di(methylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) was made combining ROP and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The PDMAEMA-part was then quaternized, which resulted in a charged chain – a polyelectrolyte. The charges allow for the PDMAEMA-PCL copolymer to be adsorbed onto the nanocellulose modell surface. The length of the PDMAEMA-part was kept constant (DP=20), and the length of PCL was varied (DP=150, 300, 600) for both the covalently attached polymer and for the copolymer. Finally, differences between the two approaches were evaluated regarding for example surface coverage and grafting/physiosorption efficiency investigated with techniques such as atomic force microscopy.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bruce, Carl, et al.
(författare)
-
Preparation and evaluation of a block copolymer compatibilizer for biocomposite applications
- 2012
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, the concept of using a free polymer as a compatibilzer in biocomposite applications has been evaluated with focus on the polymer poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL), commonly used in conventional grafting onto/from cellulose. A block copolymer consisting of PCL and a shorter segment of poly(di(methylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) was made combining ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The length of the PDMAEMA-part was kept constant, and the PCL-part was varied in three different lengths, yielding three separate block copolymers. As a final step, the PDMAEMA-part was quaternized, which resulted in cationically charged chains –polyelectrolytes. The charged part could then be used as an electrostatic linker allowing the PDMAEMA-PCL copolymer to be adsorbed onto negatively charged cellulose model surfaces. Finally, these cellulose model surfaces were evaluated regarding for example amount of polymer adsorbed and hydrophobic character, investigated with techniques such as quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and contact angle measurements.
|
|
| 6. |
- Carrick, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
-
Hollow cellulose capsules from CO2 saturated cellulose solutions - Their preparation and characterization
- 2013
-
Ingår i: RSC Advances. - 2046-2069. ; 3:7, s. 2462-2469
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new material consisting of mm-sized hollow cellulose spheres, for biomedical applications or for the preparation of low weight porous materials has been prepared by a unique solution precipitation (SP) method. The technique is based on three separate steps. In the first step, high molecular mass, non-modified cellulose is dissolved in a suitable solvent. This cellulose solution is then saturated with a suitable gas (CO2 or N2 in the present work) and finally this gas-saturated solution is drop-wise added to a water reservoir. In this step, the cellulose is precipitated and a gas bubble is nucleated in the center of the cellulose sphere. When stored in water, the hollow center is filled with water, indicating that the capsule wall is porous in nature. This was also supported by BET-area measurements as well as by high resolution SEM-images of broken capsule walls. The internal void volume of a capsule was about 5 μl and the wall volume was about 8 μl. It was also established that the properties of the cellulose capsules, i.e. wall and void volume, the specific surface area, the average pore size of the capsule wall, the wall density, and the compressive load capacity could be tuned by the choice of cellulose concentration in the solution before precipitation. The capsule wall volume and void volume were also affected by the choice of gas, the gas pressure and the gas dissolution time during the gas saturation step. The response of the cellulose wall of the prepared capsules to changes in pH and ion concentration in the surrounding solution was also investigated. The swelling-shrinking behavior was further investigated by introducing more charges to the capsule wall, via carboxymethylation of the cellulose. This was achieved by using carboxymethylated cellulose which increased the swelling-shrinking effect. The results show a typical polyelectrolyte gel behavior of the capsule wall and the wet modulus of the cellulose wall was determined to be between 0.09-0.2 MPa depending on the charge of the cellulose in the capsule wall. Furthermore, the freeze dried cellulose spheres had a modulus of 1.9-7.4 MPa, depending on the cellulose concentration during the preparation of the spheres. These cellulose capsules are suitable both for the preparation of porous materials, where these larger spheres are joined together in 3D-shaped materials, and for controlled release where the interior of the capsules is filled with active substances and these substances are released by controlling the pores in the capsule walls.
|
|
| 7. |
- Cervin, Nicholas Tchang, et al.
(författare)
-
Ultra porous nanocellulose aerogels as separation medium for mixtures of oil/water liquids
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Cellulose (London). - 0969-0239. ; 19:2, s. 401-410
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A novel type of sponge-like material for the separation of mixed oil and water liquids has been prepared by the vapour deposition of hydrophobic silanes on ultra-porous nanocellulose aerogels. To achieve this, a highly porous (> 99%) nanocellulose aerogel with high structural flexibility and robustness is first formed by freeze-drying an aqueous dispersion of the nanocellulose. The density, pore size distribution and wetting properties of the aerogel can be tuned by selecting the concentration of the nanocellulose dispersion before freeze-drying. The hydrophobic light- weight aerogels are almost instantly filled with the oil phase when selectively absorbing oil from water, with a capacity to absorb up to 45 times their own weight in oil. The oil can also be drained from the aerogel and the aerogel can then be reused for a second absorption cycle.
|
|
| 8. |
- Fält, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
-
Model films of cellulose II - improved preparation method and characterization of the cellulose film
- 2004
-
Ingår i: Cellulose (London). - 0969-0239. ; 11:2, s. 151-162
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An optimization study of the preparation of spin-coated cellulose model films from the NMMO/DMSO system on silicon wafers has been made. The study shows that the cellulose concentration in the solution determines the cellulose film thickness and that the temperature of the solution affects the surface roughness. A lower solution temperature results in a lower surface roughness at cellulose concentrations below 0.8%. Using the described method, it is possible to prepare films with thicknesses of 30-90 nm with a constant surface roughness by changing the cellulose concentration, i.e. by dilution with DMSO. On these films, water has a contact angle less than 20degrees and about 50% of the material can, according to CP/MAS C-13-NMR spectroscopy on corresponding fibrous material, be considered to consist of crystalline cellulose II type material. It has further been shown that AFM can be used to determine the thickness of cellulose films, in both dry and wet states. In this method, the difference in height between the top surface and the underlying wafer has been measured at an incision made into the cellulose film. The cellulose films have also been spin-coated with the same technique as on the silicon oxide wafer onto the crystal in a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). These model films were found to be suitable for swelling measurements with the QCM. The films were very stable during this type of measurement and films with different amounts of charges gave different swelling responses depending on their charges. As expected, films with a higher charge showed a higher swelling.
|
|
| 9. |
- Gustafsson, Emil, et al.
(författare)
-
Treatment of cellulose fibres with polyelectrolytes and wax colloids to create tailored highly hydrophobic fibrous networks
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Colloids and Surfaces A : Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. - 0927-7757. ; 414, s. 415-421
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Paper is a versatile material with obvious advantages in being both inexpensive and environment friendly. However, a major drawback compared with many other materials, such as plastics, is that it is sensitive to both liquid water and moist air. Traditionally paper is protected from liquid water by sizing. The present work presents a new way to make paper water resistant by combining the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique with the adsorption of a colloidal wax onto the multilayer structure. After the adsorption of five layers of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(acrylic acid) followed by the adsorption of 8. mg paraffin wax per gram fibre, the contact angle measured 60. s after a drop of water was applied to the sheet was about 138°. If the sheets were cured for 30. min at 160. °C after sheet making, the contact angle was ca. 150°. The heat treatment of sheets prepared from LbL-modified fibres without the addition of wax gave a contact angle of about 113°. To decouple structural effects from changes in surface energy upon heat treatment of PAH/PAA LbL films, model experiments were carried out where LbL assemblies were prepared on silicon oxide and cellulose model surfaces. The contact angle increased when these films were heat treated but it did not exceed 90°. The reason for this is due to the lack of structure of the model surfaces on a micrometre scale. The adsorption of wax impaired the mechanical properties of paper sheets made from modified fibres compared to sheets from the LbL-modified fibres. However, at an adsorption of 8. mg paraffin wax per gram fibre there was still an increase by 37 ± 1% in tensile strength index compared to the untreated reference pulp (33.8 ± 0.7 and 24.7 ± 0.6. kNm/kg respectively).
|
|
| 10. |
- Horvath, Andrew T., et al.
(författare)
-
Effect of Cross-Linking Fiber Joints on the Tensile and Fracture Behavior of Paper
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. - 0888-5885. ; 49:14, s. 6422-6431
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tensile and fracture properties of cross-linked paper were investigated at low and high relative humidity by cross-linking the joints formed between fibers. Cationic acetal dextran served as a model cross-linking agent, as it can be prepared to adsorb specifically to the fiber surface. Thus, cross-linking occurs only in the joints between fibers. The kinetics of hydrolysis was investigated to optimize the stock preparation, such that the resulting aldehyde groups react as the paper is dried. The effect of the cross-link density on the tensile and fracture properties was studied by varying the amount of acetal groups adsorbed to the pulp fibers. At low humidity, cross-linking improved the tensile and fracture properties of paper, although lower cross-link densities yielded better properties. Cross-linking was not effective at high relative humidty, as the tensile strength and stiffness were not improved. However, the fracture properties were significantly improved.
|
|
