Contribution of lignin to the surface structure and physical performance of cellulose nanofibrils film

Bian, Huiyang; Gao, Ying; Wang, Ruibin; Liu, Zhulan; Wu, Weibing; Dai, Hongqi

doi:10.1007/s10570-018-1658-x

Original Paper
Published: 12 January 2018

Contribution of lignin to the surface structure and physical performance of cellulose nanofibrils film

Huiyang Bian¹,
Ying Gao¹,
Ruibin Wang²,
Zhulan Liu¹,
Weibing Wu¹ &
Hongqi Dai ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1954-8829¹

Cellulose volume 25, pages 1309–1318 (2018)Cite this article

1695 Accesses
55 Citations
Metrics details

Abstract

Herein, lignocellulosic nanofibrils (LCNF) suspension containing 0.1, 3.9, and 17.2 wt% lignin were utilized to fabricate films by filtration and pressing process. The stiff nature of fibrils containing lignin made them less able to conform during filtration, resulting in more uneven surface structure with higher roughness value. Lignin in the films interfered in hydrogen bonding between cellulose nanofibrils, thus impairing mechanical property of the film, such as tensile stress and Young’s modulus. Due to the presence of chromophore groups, lignin absorbed light and the light transmittance of film was decreased. However, the film containing lignin displayed unusually high hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 88° and maximal weight loss temperature (T_max) of 372 °C. Overall, this study provides useful knowledge for understanding the result of lignin on the formation, surface morphology and physical behavior of LCNF films, especially in related bioproducts that requires low hydrophilicity, high roughness and high thermal stability.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

Abdul Khalil HP, Davoudpour Y, Islam MN, Mustapha A, Sudesh K, Dungani R, Jawaid M (2014) Production and modification of nanofibrillated cellulose using various mechanical processes: a review. Carbohyd Polym 99:649–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.08.069
CAS Article Google Scholar
Alila S, Besbes I, Vilar MR, Mutjé P, Boufi S (2013) Non-woody plants as raw materials for production of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC): a comparative study. Ind Crops Prod 41:250–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2012.04.028
CAS Article Google Scholar
Bian H, Chen L, Dai H, Zhu JY (2017a) Integrated production of lignin containing cellulose nanocrystals (LCNC) and nanofibrils (LCNF) using an easily recyclable di-carboxylic acid. Carbohyd Polym 167:167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.03.050
CAS Article Google Scholar
Bian H, Chen L, Gleisner R, Dai H, Zhu JY (2017b) Producing wood-based nanomaterials by rapid fractionation of wood at 80 °C using a recyclable acid hydrotrope. Green Chem 19:3370–3379. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7gc00669a
CAS Article Google Scholar
Chau TT, Bruckard WJ, Koh PT, Nguyen AV (2009) A review of factors that affect contact angle and implications for flotation practice. Adv Coll Interface Sci 150:106–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2009.07.003
CAS Article Google Scholar
Delgado-Aguilar M, González I, Tarrés Q, Pèlach MÀ, Alcalà M, Mutjé P (2016) The key role of lignin in the production of low-cost lignocellulosic nanofibres for papermaking applications. Ind Crops Prod 86:295–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.04.010
CAS Article Google Scholar
Ferrer A, Quintana E, Filpponen I, Solala I, Vidal T, Rodríguez A, Laine J, Rojas OJ (2012) Effect of residual lignin and heteropolysaccharides in nanofibrillar cellulose and nanopaper from wood fibers. Cellulose 19:2179–2193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-012-9788-z
CAS Article Google Scholar
Jia C, Chen L, Shao Z, Agarwal UP, Hu L, Zhu JY (2017) Using a fully recyclable dicarboxylic acid for producing dispersible and thermally stable cellulose nanomaterials from different cellulosic sources. Cellulose 24:2483–2498. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-017-1277-y
CAS Article Google Scholar
Kumar V, Bollström R, Yang A, Chen Q, Chen G, Salminen P, Bousfield D, Toivakka M (2014) Comparison of nano- and microfibrillated cellulose films. Cellulose 21:3443–3456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0357-5
CAS Article Google Scholar
Li Y, Fu Q, Rojas R, Yan M, Lawoko M, Berglund L (2017) Lignin-retaining transparent wood. Chemsuschem 10:3445–3451. https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201701089
CAS Article Google Scholar
Nair SS, Yan N (2015) Effect of high residual lignin on the thermal stability of nanofibrils and its enhanced mechanical performance in aqueous environments. Cellulose 22:3137–3150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0737-5
CAS Article Google Scholar
Nair SS, Kuo P-Y, Chen H, Yan N (2017) Investigating the effect of lignin on the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of cellulose nanofibril reinforced epoxy composite. Ind Crops Prod 100:208–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.02.032
CAS Article Google Scholar
Nechyporchuk O, Belgacem MN, Bras J (2016) Production of cellulose nanofibrils: a review of recent advances. Ind Crops Prod 93:2–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.02.016
CAS Article Google Scholar
Qing Y, Sabo R, Zhu JY, Agarwal U, Cai Z, Wu Y (2013) A comparative study of cellulose nanofibrils disintegrated via multiple processing approaches. Carbohyd Polym 97:226–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2013.04.086
CAS Article Google Scholar
Qing Y, Sabo R, Wu Y, Zhu JY, Cai Z (2015) Self-assembled optically transparent cellulose nanofibril films: effect of nanofibril morphology and drying procedure. Cellulose 22:1091–1102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0563-9
CAS Article Google Scholar
Rojo E, Peresin MS, Sampson WW, Hoeger IC, Vartiainen J, Laine J, Rojas OJ (2015) Comprehensive elucidation of the effect of residual lignin on the physical, barrier, mechanical and surface properties of nanocellulose films. Green Chem 17:1853–1866. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4GC02398F
CAS Article Google Scholar
Segal L, Creely JJ, Martin AE, Conrad CM (1959) An empirical method for estimating the degree of crystallinity of native cellulose using the X-ray diffractometer. Text Res J 29:786–794
CAS Article Google Scholar
Spence KL, Venditti RA, Habibi Y, Rojas OJ, Pawlak JJ (2010a) The effect of chemical composition on microfibrillar cellulose films from wood pulps: mechanical processing and physical properties. Biores Technol 101:5961–5968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.104
CAS Article Google Scholar
Spence KL, Venditti RA, Rojas OJ, Habibi Y, Pawlak JJ (2010b) The effect of chemical composition on microfibrillar cellulose films from wood pulps: water interactions and physical properties for packaging applications. Cellulose 17:835–848. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-010-9424-8
CAS Article Google Scholar
TAPPI (2002) TAPPI standard test method (T410 om-02). Grammage of paper and paperboard
TAPPI (2010) TAPPI standard method (T411 om-10). Thickness (caliper) of paper, paperboard, and combined board
Velásquez-Cock J, Gañán P, Posada P, Castro C, Serpa A, Gómez HC, Putaux JL, Zuluaga R (2016) Influence of combined mechanical treatments on the morphology and structure of cellulose nanofibrils: thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting films. Ind Crops Prod 85:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.02.036
Article Google Scholar
Wang Q, Zhu JY, Considine JM (2013) Strong and optically transparent films prepared using cellulosic solid residue recovered from cellulose nanocrystals production waste stream. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:2527–2534. https://doi.org/10.1021/am302967m
CAS Article Google Scholar
Yu H, Qin Z, Liang B, Liu N, Zhou Z, Chen L (2013) Facile extraction of thermally stable cellulose nanocrystals with a high yield of 93% through hydrochloric acid hydrolysis under hydrothermal conditions. J Mater Chem A 1:3938–3944. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ta01150j
CAS Article Google Scholar
Zhu HL, Luo W, Ciesielski PN, Fang ZJ, Zhu JY, Henriksson G, Himmel ME, Hu LB (2016) Wood-derived materials for green electronics, biological devices, and energy applications. Chem Rev 116(16):9305–9374. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00225
CAS Article Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 31470599) and the Doctorate Fellowship Foundation of Nanjing Forestry University. We would like to acknowledge Prof. Zhu of the Forest Product Lab for complimentarily providing us the LCNF samples.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
Huiyang Bian, Ying Gao, Zhulan Liu, Weibing Wu & Hongqi Dai
School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
Ruibin Wang

Authors

Huiyang Bian
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Ying Gao
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Ruibin Wang
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Zhulan Liu
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Weibing Wu
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Hongqi Dai
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongqi Dai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bian, H., Gao, Y., Wang, R. et al. Contribution of lignin to the surface structure and physical performance of cellulose nanofibrils film. Cellulose 25, 1309–1318 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-018-1658-x

Download citation

Received: 23 November 2017
Accepted: 08 January 2018
Published: 12 January 2018
Issue Date: February 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-018-1658-x

Keywords

Lignin
Lignocellulosic nanofibrils
Film
Morphology
Mechanical property
Thermal stability
Hydrophobicity