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Cellulose nanofibers from white and naturally colored cotton fibers

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Abstract

Suspensions of white and colored nanofibers were obtained by the acid hydrolysis of white and naturally colored cotton fibers. Possible differences among them in morphology and other characteristics were investigated. The original fibers were subjected to chemical analysis (cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose content), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The nanofibers were analyzed with respect to yield, elemental composition (to assess the presence of sulfur), zeta potential, morphology (by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), crystallinity (XRD) and thermal stability by thermogravimetric analysis in air under dynamic and isothermal temperature conditions. Morphological study of several cotton nanofibers showed a length of 85–225 nm and diameter of 6–18 nm. The micrographs also indicated that there were no significant morphological differences among the nanostructures from different cotton fibers. The main differences found were the slightly higher yield, sulfonation effectiveness and thermal stability under dynamic temperature conditions of the white nanofiber. On the other hand, in isothermal conditions at 180 °C, the colored nanofibers showed a better thermal stability than the white.

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Abbreviations

CW:

White cellulose

CB:

Brown cellulose

CG:

Green cellulose

CR:

Ruby cellulose

CNW:

White nanocellulose

CNB:

Brown nanocellulose

CNG:

Green nanocellulose

CNR:

Ruby nanocellulsoe

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the supply of cotton fiber samples by Dr. Odilon R. R. F. Silva and Dr. Luiz P. de Carvalho (Embrapa Algodão, Brazil) and financial support provided by FAPESP (Process No. 07/50863-4), FINEP, CNPq and EMBRAPA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness (LNNA), Embrapa Agricultural Instrumentation, P.O. Box 741, São Carlos, SP, 13560-970, Brazil

    Eliangela de Morais Teixeira, Ana Carolina Corrêa, Alexandra Manzoli, Fabio de Lima Leite, Cauê Ribeiro de Oliveira & Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso

  2. Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar), via Washington Luiz, km 235, Monjolinho, P.O. Box 676, Sao Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Corrêa

  3. Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar), Rodovia João Leme dos Santos, km 110 (SP 264), P.O. Box: 3031, Sorocaba, SP, 18052-780, Brazil

    Fabio de Lima Leite

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  1. Eliangela de Morais Teixeira
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  2. Ana Carolina Corrêa
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  3. Alexandra Manzoli
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  4. Fabio de Lima Leite
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  5. Cauê Ribeiro de Oliveira
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  6. Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso
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Correspondence to Eliangela de Morais Teixeira.

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de Morais Teixeira, E., Corrêa, A.C., Manzoli, A. et al. Cellulose nanofibers from white and naturally colored cotton fibers. Cellulose 17, 595–606 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-010-9403-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-010-9403-0

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