Bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers represent an emerging class of highly crystalline bionanofibers with high intrinsic mechanical properties. The remarkable nanofibers with oriented structure and strong interfibrillar interactions can realize high-performance materials. In this study, we demonstrated that macrofibers based on aligned BC nanofibers could be prepared by wet spinning and drawing procedures. The relationship between process conditions, structure, and mechanical properties of macrofibers were investigated. The obtained macrofibers exhibited Young's modulus of 16.4 GPa and tensile strength of 248.6 MPa under the optimum process conditions, in which nanofibers displayed a high degree of alignment. Furthermore, we enhanced the interfacial interactions between nanofibers and obtained better mechanical performance by multivalent ion cross-linking. After exchanging the monovalent Na+ by Fe3+, the dried macrofiber reached Young's modulus of 22.9 GPa and tensile strength of 357.5 MPa. Particularly, the resulting macrofibers still maintained good mechanical properties with Young's modulus of 15.9 GPa and tensile strength of 262.2 MPa in the wet condition. This research provided a good method to fabricate macrofibers from BC nanofibers with good properties by continuous wet-spinning process. These macrofibers can be easily functionalized and have promising potential applications in smart textiles, biosensor, and structural reinforcement.
Keywords: bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers; cross-linking; orientation, mechanical properties; wet spinning.