Preparation and properties of crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol)/nanofibrillated cellulose based biocomposite by subcritical water/CO₂process

Abstract

In the present work, for the first time plasticized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) based biocomposite was crosslinked by citric acid (CA) using subcritical water/CO2 process. Presence of sufficient number of ‐OH groups in the backbone of plasticized PVA (p‐PVA) helps to form H bonding with SC‐NFC, which significantly improves the mechanical property of the biocomposite. Further, crosslinking of the same biocomposite helps to achieve hydrogel with superior modulus than that of PVA hydrogel alone. In subcritical medium, plasticized poly(vinyl alcohol)/nanofibrillated cellulose based biocomposite powder gets melted, fused and cross‐linked in a single step process to develop such hydrogel. Crosslinked plasticized poly(vinyl alcohol)/nanofibrillated cellulose based biocomposites were fully characterized in terms of gel content, thermal and chemical properties, morphology, swelling behavior and rheology. Excellent water swollen property, cellular structure and high storage modulus establish the potential of prepared biocomposite based hydrogels for several biomedical applications.

Mechanical, robust and conductive eco-friendly self-assembling hydrogel: a novel material for electromagnetic shielding

“…The size of the sample is dumbbell-shaped (tensile) or cylindrical (compression). 46,47 The four-probe tester (RK-YA, China) is a commonly used device for conductivity measurements, and is commissioned at 5 V with a spacing of 2.35 mm between each stylus, according to national standards. Samples are first cut into rectangular strips 10 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, and 1 mm thick, and then tested at room temperature, at least three times for each sample.…”

Doping nanocellulose crystal with poly(vinyl alcohol) for water‐resistant composite fibers with enhanced mechanical and dyeing performances

“…We surmised that adopting NC nanomaterials into PVA composite fibers could significantly enhance the dyeing properties of the resulting fibers. Under our assumptions, hydroxyl‐rich NC not only theoretically increases the contact area with the dye due to its nanometer size but also provides abundant hydroxyl groups for attachment of dye molecules thereby enhancing dyeability of PVA composite fibers 29–31 …”

“…Under our assumptions, hydroxyl-rich NC not only theoretically increases the contact area with the dye due to its nanometer size but also provides abundant hydroxyl groups for attachment of dye molecules thereby enhancing dyeability of PVA composite fibers. [29][30][31] To this end, in this work, NC was fabricated by ultrasound-assisted hydrolysis of pure cotton pulp and was evenly distributed throughout the PVA matrix as the reinforcing phase. The resulting NC/PVA mixture was wet spun into fibers and then acetalized with formaldehyde, obtaining NC/PVA composite fibers.…”

Performance factors for filtration of air using cellulosic fiber-based media: A review

“…2% solids or more) may behave like a gel, typical applications of gels require that the material stay together as a unit even when diluted. This can be achieved by means of crosslinking (Spoljaric et al 2014;Purkayastha et al 2022). By adjusting the level of crosslinking, the formulator can trade away some of the absorption capacity in favor of the strength of the hydrogel structure, depending on the requirements of the application.…”