Synthesis of Cellulose Fatty Esters as Plastics—Influence of the Degree of Substitution and the Fatty Chain Length on Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Alternative films: The effect of the chain length and the degree of substitution on the mechanical and hydrophobic properties of various cellulose fatty ester plastic films was studied. The results suggest that the cellulose ester plastic films are promising alternatives to petrochemical commodity plastics such as polyethylene.Cellulose-based plastic films were prepared by acylating cellulose in homogeneous media under microwave irradiation with fatty acyl chlorides containing either saturated or unsaturated chains of various lengths (C(12) to C(18)). The resultant cellulose esters were analysed by FTIR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy to confirm their structure and to determine their degree of substitution. Some of the cellulose fatty esters were then converted into polymer films by casting. The mechanical properties of these films were determined, including their elastic modulus, tensile strength and tensile strain level. The hydrophobicity of the polymer films was determined by contact angle measurement with water. The mechanical and hydrophobic properties of the plastic films were then compared to those of commodity plastics.

Reactive dissolution of cellulose and pulp through acylation in pyridine

“…Simple and mixed cellulose esters of short-chain carboxylic acids (C2 to C4) are produced in industrial scale to obtain synthetic fibers, photographic and X-ray films, coatings, textile and cigarette filter industries (Crépy et al 2009). Commercial cellulose acetate is typically prepared using acetic acid and acetic anhydride in the presence of a strong acid catalyst (Cheng et al 2010).…”

Thermal Properties and Thermal Degradation of Cellulose Tri-Stearate (CTs)

“…Several methods have been developed to prepare LCCEs. These methods involved heterogeneous acylation by using acyl chloride, acid chlorides under vacuum or aliphatic acids with trifluoroacetic acid [3], and homogeneous acylation in DMAc/LiCl [4][5][6] or in ionic liquids [7,8]. Studies have shown that the maximum degree of substitution (DS) of LCCEs synthesized in ionic liquid system was up to approximately 2.0.…”

Turning polysaccharides into hydrophobic materials: a critical review. Part 1. Cellulose

“…The esterification of cellulose is the oldest polymer modification reaction known and its relevance has never lost its impact. In the last few decades, long chain cellulose esters have still been prepared by grafting fatty acids and their derivatives onto cellulose, either by surface or bulk reactions, employing various methods (Berlioz et al 2009;Boufi and Belgacem 2006;Bras et al 2007;Crepy et al 2009;Freire et al 2006;Pasquini et al 2008;Peydecastaing et al 2006). These cellulose derivatives, which were elaborated with different substrates and purposes, showed an enhanced hydrophobic character with water contact angles some times exceeding 90°.…”