Method to prepare smooth and even cellulose-lignophenol films

Abstract

Dissolved cellulose was contacted with dissolved linear or slightly branched lignophenol polymers in alkaline solution, and films were formed through precipitation. Lignophenol is a polymeric lignin derivative isolated from wood meal, and due to its size and chemical structure, it is expected to a better model for natural lignin compared to the previously exploited small lignin model molecules. Smooth and even of cellulose-lignophenol films were achieved, and the interactions between cellulose and lignophenol were tentatively detected. The formed film structures had the crystalline form of cellulose II, and they did not contain any fibril-like material. Although the amount of hemicelluloses was negligible, it seems that the lignin modelling lignophenol tended to positively interact with cellulose.