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Small-angle scattering study of structural changes in the microfibril network of nanocellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis

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Abstract

The hydrolysis of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), consisting of individual cellulose fibrils, was followed using small-angle scattering techniques in order to reveal changes in the substrate structure caused by cellulose degrading enzymes. In particular, the nanoscale structure of the network of cellulose fibrils was characterized with the combination of small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering. In the nanocellulose with higher xylan content, the interfibrillar distance was shown to remain unchanged during enzymatic degradation, whereas the distance increased in the nanocellulose with lower xylan content. The limiting effect of xylan on the hydrolysis and a faster hydrolysis of the more thoroughly fibrillated segments of the NFC network could be observed. Despite the extensive fibrillation of the raw material, however, the hydrolysis was eventually limited by the aggregated and heterogeneous structure of the substrate.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank University of Helsinki Research Funds, the Academy of Finland (2105059) and the Finnish Cultural Foundation for financial support. Jaakko Pere from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is thanked for providing the nanocellulose substrates for the hydrolysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Paavo A. Penttilä, Inkeri Kontro, Ville Liljeström & Ritva Serimaa

  2. Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Anikó Várnai & Liisa Viikari

  3. ID02, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 6 Rue Jules Horowitz, B.P. 220, 38043, Grenoble, France

    Manuel Fernández

  4. D11, Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 6 Rue Jules Horowitz, B.P. 156, 38042, Grenoble, France

    Peter Lindner

  5. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, 02044, Espoo, Finland

    Matti Siika-aho

Authors
  1. Paavo A. Penttilä
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  2. Anikó Várnai
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  3. Manuel Fernández
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  4. Inkeri Kontro
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  5. Ville Liljeström
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  6. Peter Lindner
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  7. Matti Siika-aho
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  8. Liisa Viikari
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  9. Ritva Serimaa
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Correspondence to Paavo A. Penttilä.

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Penttilä, P.A., Várnai, A., Fernández, M. et al. Small-angle scattering study of structural changes in the microfibril network of nanocellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis. Cellulose 20, 1031–1040 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-013-9899-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-013-9899-1

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