Pore Structure Regulation of Carboxyethylated Microfibrillated Cellulose Films

Carboxyethylation is a recent chemical pretreatment for preparation of microfibrillated cellulose(MFC).The carboxyethylated MFC film prepared by coating method has compact structure and high mechanical properties.In order to expand its application,three approaches including using organic solvents,different drying methods and cationic additives,have been adopted in this paper to enrich and regulate the pore structure of MFC film.The results show that all the approaches can improve the pore structure but decrease the mechanical properties of MFC film.When organic solvents such as ethanol,isopropanol and n-butanol were used to replace the water in MFC suspension or pre-dried MFC film,the pore structure of films were increased.Additionally,the film obtained by freeze-drying or air-drying after freezing in liquid nitrogen or freezer has high porosity but poor strength.The best drying process is to rewet dry MFC film,freeze in liquid nitrogen and then freeze-dry.Moreover,the addition of cationic polyelectrolytes or alkene ketone dimer(AKD)in MFC suspension can also significantly increase the film's porosity.Through the above approaches,the porosity of carboxyethylated MFC film can be regulated between 20% and 90%.

Carboxyethylated Microfibrillated Cellulose Fibers Prepared from Different Raw Materials

Carboxyethylation pretreatment was used to prepare microfibrillated cellulose(MFC)in this study.In order to evaluate the adaptability of this pretreatment method,carboxyethylated MFC was prepared from six different cellulosic materials.The carboxyl content,degree of polymerization,water retention value,charge density,chemical structure,size distribution,and micromorphology of the materials before and after pretreatment and grinding were studied and compared.The viscosity,ultraviolet(UV)transmittance,and thermal stability of the MFC samples at a certain concentration were determined.The results showed that the carboxyl content,water retention value,charge density,degree of polymerization,size distribution,and micromorphology of the pretreated and ground samples varied with those of the raw materials.The initial viscosity varied based on the type of raw material used.The MFC suspension prepared from cotton linter pulp had the highest UV transmittance,while the MFC prepared from bleached softwood kraft pulp had the highest viscosity at a low shear rate.After thermal degradation,the amount of residual char from the MFC prepared with the thermo-mechanical pulp was slightly higher than that of the other MFCs.This study demonstrates that carboxyethylation is an effective pretreatment method for different cellulosic materials.

Lignin-containing Microfibrillated Cellulose Prepared from Corncob Residue via Calcium Hydroxide Co-grinding and Its Application in Paper Reinforcement

In this study,lignin-containing microfibrillated cellulose(MFC)was prepared from corncob residue after xylose extraction via co-grinding with calcium hydroxide.The product was then compared with the MFC obtained by direct grinding and applied to strengthen paper.The chemical composition and morphological structure analysis results showed that the corncob residue can be used to prepare lignin-containing MFC and does not require further purification.Moreover,the co-grinding with calcium hydroxide is easier to fibrillate corncob residue.The MFC obtained by cogrinding with calcium hydroxide had a higher aspect ratio,and its surface was coated with calcium carbonate nanoparticles.MFCs obtained by both the methods mentioned above had an obvious strengthening effect on paper.Compared with the paper without MFC,the tensile index,elongation,burst index,and folding strength of the paper with MFC obtained by co-grinding with calcium hydroxide significantly increased by 17.5%,22.1%,19.5%,and 157.1%,respectively.This study provides a novel idea for the utilization of corncob residue,which may enhance the value and promote the comprehensive utilization of corn by-products.

Z-scheme CdS/WO_(3)on a carbon cloth enabling effective hydrogen evolution

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen(H2)generation is a potential strategy to solve the problem of energy crisis and environmental deterioration.However,powder-like photocatalysts are difficult to recycle,and the agglomeration of particles would affect the photocatalytic activity.Herein,a direct Z-scheme CdS/WO_(3)composite photocatalyst was fabricated based on carbon cloth through a two-step process.With the support of carbon cloth,photocatalysts tend to grow uniformly for further applications.The experimental results showed that the H2 yield of adding one piece of CdS/WO_(3)composite material was 17.28μmol/h,which was 5.5 times as compared to that of pure CdS-loaded carbon cloth material.A cycle experiment was conducted to verify the stability of the asprepared material and the result demonstrated that the H2 generation performance of CdS/WO_(3)decreased slightly after 3 cycles.This work provides new ideas for the development of recyclable photocatalysts and has a positive significance for practical applications.