Molecular orientation in the Nematic Ordered Cellulose film using polarized FTIR accompanied with a vapor-phase deuteration method

Abstract

Previously, the authors reported ''Nematic Ordered Cellulose (NOC)'' that is a well-ordered state of b-1,4-glucan chains without exhibiting typical X-ray diffraction patterns of any cellulose polymorphs Kondo et al. 2001;Kondo 2007). The NOC was prepared by stretching water-swollen gel-like films at the draw ratio of 2.0 to provide highly oriented b-1,4-glucan molecular chains of cellulose, which was proved by the high resolution TEM observation. In this paper, a detailed study of the unique ordered state of the NOC was attempted to characterize orientation of the main chains as well as the OH groups of molecules using polarized FTIR accompanied with a vapor-phase deuteration method. The dichroic analysis suggested that the main chains were fairly oriented in the stretching direction whereas the OH groups remained unoriented. The disordered state of the OH groups regardless of the oriented state for the main chain may hinder the oriented crystallization during the preparation of NOC films.

Nanostructure of cellulose microfibrils in spruce wood

“…Mostly the disordered chains retained the O3H-O5' hydrogen bond that ensures chain rigidity, as shown by the hydroxyl stretching region in FTIR, but they had a dynamic mixture of all three possible conformations at C-6. These chains resembled the oriented but disordered cellulose that has been prepared by partial dissolution in LiCl/DMAc (63,64).…”

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for Natural Fibres

“…Kondo, Togawa and Brown [37] proposed a concept to describe how various states of molecular association can be categorized in cellulose. Figure 8 demonstrates the schematic representation of their concept.…”

Strong orientation correlation and optical anisotropy in blend of cellulose ester and poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) oligomer

“…Cellulose derivatives are polymers that are expected to meet the growing future demand for biomass‐based polymers . Particularly, cellulose esters have been studied so far for their application in optical films due to their other properties such as heat resistance and transparency . Retardation films with extraordinary wavelength dispersion, where birefringence increases with wavelength, have been focused on for their use in optical devices such as stereo [three‐dimensional (3D)] and organic electro‐luminescence (OEL) displays .…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Particularly, cellulose esters have been studied so far for their application in optical films due to their other properties such as heat resistance and transparency. 8,[12][13][14][15][16] Retardation films with extraordinary wavelength dispersion, where birefringence increases with wavelength, have been focused on for their use in optical devices such as stereo [three-dimensional (3D)] and organic electro-luminescence (OEL) displays. 14,17 For this reason, some cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), which shows the extraordinary dispersion, are appropriate materials for the retardation films.…”