All‐cellulose composites from pineapple leaf microfibers: Structural, thermal, and mechanical properties

Abstract

Pineapple leaf microfibers (PALM) were used to prepare all-cellulose composites using the surface selective dissolution method. Effect of dissolution times on mechanical and physical properties of the all-cellulose composites was investigated. The structural transformation from cellulose I to cellulose II was observed when the fibers were dissolved in a mixed solution of lithium chloride (LiCl) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Values of 42.8 MPa and 1.2 GPa for tensile strength and Young's modulus, respectively, were obtained from the composites with 120 min dissolution time in the LiCl/DMAc solution, whereas the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the undissolved PALM mats were found to be only 1.5 MPa and 0.1 GPa, respectively. The failure mechanism of the composites was changed from the fiber pull-out to the fiber breakage when the dissolution time was longer. However, lower thermal stability and degree of crystallinity of the composites were caused by the change of the cellulose structure. The composites prepared in this work can be called as biodegradable materials, and could be the potential candidates to replace nonbiodegradable materials. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:895-903, 2018.

Cellulose Nanocomposites of Cellulose Nanofibers and Molecular Coils

“…Two common methods of producing ACCs are infiltrating a cellulose solution in pre-aligned cellulose fibers [9][10][11], and in situ dissolution of cellulose fibrils to partially amorphized cellulose for binding remainder fibers [12][13][14]. Other routes for production of cellulose composites have been experimented through either incorporating fibers to cellulose solutions or partially dissolving fibers using solvents including N-methyl morpholine N-oxide (NMMO) [15], ionic liquids [16][17][18], N,N-dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) and LiCl [13,[19][20][21], or others [22,23], followed by coagulation to regenerate cellulose II, resulting in cellulose composites containing a myriad of structures resulting in interlinked bulk and interfacial properties [12,[23][24][25][26].…”

All-cellulose composites prepared by partial dissolving of cellulose fibers from musaceae leaf-sheath waste

“…9,12 However, little research has been developed using agro-industrial waste as a raw material in the production of all-cellulose. 16,17 In this context, Colombia is one of the largest producers of Musaceae plants in the world, and this activity has been generating approximately 88 wt% residues of a plant between fibrous and non-fibrous components (only 12 wt% is marketable). 18,19 The fibrous components include leaf sheath, rachis, and pseudostem; these residues are rich in cellulose, which makes it a promising raw material due to be renewable and environmental friendliness materials.…”

Hydroxypropyl starch‐based films reinforced by incorporation of alkalized microcrystalline cellulose

“…In recent decades, our environment has been witnessing an increasingly serious burden brought by non-degradable waste of films made from petroleum-based plastics [1,2]. To tackle this problem, great efforts have been dedicated to the development of fully bio-based and "environment friendly" biodegradable plastic materials [3,4].…”