Abstract
To achieve large-scale production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), it is crucial to investigate ecologically and environmentally acceptable solvent systems that can effectively hydrolyze cellulose. Lithium bromide molten salt hydrate (LiBr MSH), as a benign cellulose solvent, is thermally and chemically stable, and recyclable with minimal environmental hazard. In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC, cellulose I) was treated with formic acid-acidified LiBr MSH to yield CNCs. Cellulose I and II nanocrystals with tunable morphologies (rod-like and sphere-like) and high yield (up to 71.5%) were isolated. The concentration of LiBr had the most significant influence on the structure of CNCs. With an increased LiBr concentration from 50 to 56%, the CNC allomorph transitioned from cellulose I to a mixture of cellulose I and II and finally to cellulose II. The rod-like CNCs exhibited decreasing lengths from 398.4 nm to 102.9 nm and ultimately transformed into sphere-like nanoparticles. The resulting CNCs showed an overall high crystallinity (up to 65.9%), high thermal stability (Tmax up to 334.6 °C), and good suspension stability (no significant settling within 30 days). Therefore, this work provides an environmentally friendly and effective approach to producing CNCs with adjustable size and allomorph.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors, Chuanshuang Hu and Jin Gu, upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This project is financially supported by Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Project# 2021A1515010863, 2020A1515111106, 2020B1515420005, and 2022A1515010502) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project# 22208116).
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This project is financially supported by Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Project# 2021A1515010863, 2020A1515111106, 2020B1515420005, and 2022A1515010502) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project# 22208116).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by YW and HY. The first draft of the manuscript was written by YW. JG, LG, and WQ acquired funding. CH administrated the project. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Wang, Y., Hu, C., Guan, L. et al. Rod-like and spherical cellulose I and II nanocrystals prepared through acidified lithium bromide molten salt hydrate treatment. Cellulose 30, 10935–10952 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05567-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05567-0