Abstract
Herein for the first time, lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNF) were prepared from pine-wood powder using microwave (MW)-assisted deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment coupled with high-pressure homogenization. A DES based on choline chloride and lactic acid was employed, and LCNFs prepared by conventional DES pretreatment at 110 °C (LCNF-110) and 130 °C (LCNF-130) were used for comparison. Although MW treatment offered a high removal of lignin (70%) and hemicellulose (90%) within a short time (110 s), the morphological observations by scanning and transmission electron microscopies revealed excellent nanofibrillation of the conventionally heat-treated samples. Likewise, LCNF-110 and LCNF-130 exhibited high tensile strengths of 154.6 ± 5.0 and 136.8 ± 1.2 MPa, respectively, whereas that of LCNF-MW was only 75.6 ± 1.4 MPa. Interestingly, LCNF-MW with a lignin content between that of LCNF-110 and LCNF-130 exhibited high thermal stability (Tmax 309.6 °C) and potent antioxidant properties. However, the lignin contents of the LCNFs determined their UV-radiation blocking efficiency, where LCNF-110 > LCNF-MW > LCNF-130. Furthermore, all LCNF films exhibited good visible-light transparency, flexibility, and water contact angles (> 87°), indicating their promising potential for packaging applications.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2018R1A6A1A03025582).
Funding
This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2018R1A6A1A03025582).
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G-J.K: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—original draft; S-W.C: Investigation, Methodology, Data curation; R.B: Writing—Review and editing; B-S.Y: Methodology, Data curation; R.D: Data curation; S-Y.H: Re-sources, Project Administration; S-Y.M: Methodology, Data curation; J-K.K: Data curation, visualization; N-H.K: Supervision; S-H.L: Supervision, Funding acquisition.
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Kwon, GJ., Cho, SW., Bandi, R. et al. Production of lignocellulose nanofibrils by conventional and microwave-assisted deep-eutectic-solvent pretreatments: mechanical, antioxidant, and UV-blocking properties. Cellulose 30, 4277–4292 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05164-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05164-1