Preparation and characterization of regenerated cellulose films using borassus fruit fibers and an ionic liquid

K Obi Reddy; C Uma Maheswari; M S Dhlamini; B M Mothudi; Jinming Zhang; Jun Zhang; Rajini Nagarajan; A Varada Rajulu

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.12.051

Preparation and characterization of regenerated cellulose films using borassus fruit fibers and an ionic liquid

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Mar 15:160:203-211. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.12.051. Epub 2016 Dec 23.

Authors

K Obi Reddy¹, C Uma Maheswari², M S Dhlamini³, B M Mothudi³, Jinming Zhang⁴, Jun Zhang⁴, Rajini Nagarajan⁵, A Varada Rajulu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Electronic address: kanchor@unisa.ac.za.
² Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³ Department of Physics, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁴ CAS Key Lab Engineering Plastics, Institue of chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.
⁵ Centre for Composite Materials, International Research Centre, Kalasalingam University, Anand Nagar, KrishnanKovil, 626126, India.

PMID: 28115095
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.12.051

Abstract

In this study, we successfully extracted cellulose from borassus fruit fibers by chemical process. The extracted cellulose was dissolved in an ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl). Using this solution, regenerated cellulose films were prepared with water as the non solvent. The raw fruit fibers and extracted cellulose were characterized by chemical analysis. The results indicated that the content of the components other than cellulose was significantly decreased during the cellulose extraction process. Further, FTIR, ¹³CP-MAS NMR, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to provide structural characterization of raw fibers, extracted cellulose and regenerated cellulose films. The average tensile strength, modulus and elongation at break of the regenerated cellulose films were found to be 111±19MPa, 6149±603MPa and 3.1±0.8%, respectively. The notable properties of regenerated cellulose films advocate their effectiveness for various industrial applications.

Keywords: Borassus fruit fibers; Crystallinity; Ionic liquid; Regenerated cellulose; Spectroscopy; Thermal stability.

MeSH terms

Arecaceae / chemistry*
Cellulose / chemistry*
Fruit / chemistry*
Ionic Liquids / chemistry*
Tensile Strength
X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

Ionic Liquids
Cellulose
rayon, purified