Curaua and eucalyptus nanofibers films by continuous casting: Mechanical and thermal properties

Pedro Ivo Cunha Claro; Ana Carolina Corrêa; Adriana de Campos; Vanessa Bolzan Rodrigues; Bruno Ribeiro Luchesi; Luiz Eduardo Silva; Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso; José Manoel Marconcini

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.11.037

Curaua and eucalyptus nanofibers films by continuous casting: Mechanical and thermal properties

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Feb 1:181:1093-1101. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.11.037. Epub 2017 Dec 2.

Authors

Pedro Ivo Cunha Claro¹, Ana Carolina Corrêa², Adriana de Campos², Vanessa Bolzan Rodrigues³, Bruno Ribeiro Luchesi⁴, Luiz Eduardo Silva⁵, Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso², José Manoel Marconcini²

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering (PPG-CEM), Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP 13565-905, Brazil. Electronic address: pedrocunhaclaro@ymail.com.
² National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, SP, 13560-970, Brazil.
³ Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Sao Carlos, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil.
⁴ Graduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering (PPG-CEM), Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP 13565-905, Brazil.
⁵ Forest Science Department Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, MG, P.O. Box 3037, 37200-000, Brazil.

PMID: 29253936
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.11.037

Abstract

A wide variety of new green materials such as curaua leaf fibers (CLFs) has potential applications in nanotechnology. This study aims to investigate the thermomechanical properties and morphological structure of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) films obtained by continuous casting. The CNCs were obtained by acid hydrolysis and CNFs by mechanical shearing from bleached CLFs and eucalyptus pulp. The morphology after continuous casting resulted in oriented nanofibers, and as a consequence there was mechanical anisotropy. CNCs films showed the greatest values of tensile strength (36±4MPa) and the more effective fibrillation provided better mechanical strength of eucalyptus CNFs films than curaua CNFs films. Sulfur groups and mechanical shear degradation affected the stability of CNCs and CNFs films, respectively. Thus, the type of nanostructure, the way they interact to each other, the cellulose source and the process interfere significantly on the properties of the films.

Keywords: Continuous casting; Curaua; Eucalyptus; Morphological structure; Nanofibers films; Thermomechanical properties.