All-Cellulose Composites Fabricated by Partially Dissolving Wood Pulp in Cryogenic Aqueous Phosphoric Acid

Abstract

All-cellulose composites(ACCs) are composites that use non-derivatized cellulose as both the matrix and the reinforcement phase. ACC consists entirely of cellulose, and since the reinforcement phase and the matrix have exactly the same chemical properties, they can overcome the problem of poor fiber-matrix adhesion in biocomposites. In this study, ACC was prepared by partially dissolving wood pulp in a cryogenic aqueous phosphoric acid solution, and the effects of dissolution temperature, dissolution time and pressing load on the properties of ACC were investigated. The results showed that a dissolution time of 45 min achieved the optimal reinforcement-matrix ratio. The use of an aqueous ethanol solution at an ethanol mass fraction of 50% as a coagulation bath and a pressing load of 3 000 kg during the drying process achieved the best mechanical properties of ACC, with a tensile strength of 49.3 MPa(approximately 210% higher than that of the untreated wood pulp) and an elastic modulus of 1.6 GPa(approximately 122% higher than that of the untreated wood pulp). The composite's compactness affected ACC's mechanical properties. The air permeability analysis showed that the barrier performance of ACC was also significantly better than that of the untreated wood pulp. With a pressing load of 3 500 kg, the surface water contact angle(WCA) increased to 110.3°(approximately 94% higher than that of the untreated wood pulp), and the air permeability was significantly reduced to 1.1 mm/s, showing its good application prospects in the field of green packaging materials.

Keywords

cellulose / all-cellulose composite(ACC) / cryogenic phosphoric acid / partial dissolution(PD) / sustainable material

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Funding

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China(2232023G-04)