Novel regenerated cellulose films prepared by coagulating with water: Structure and properties

  • Ran Li
  • , Lina Zhang*
  • , Min Xu
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

107 Scopus citations

Abstract

Regenerated films were successfully prepared from cellulose/NaOH/urea solution by coagulating with water at temperature from 25 to 45 °C. The results of solid 13C NMR, wide angle X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing revealed that the cellulose films possessed homogeneous structure and cellulose II crystalline, similar to that prepared previously by coagulating with 5 wt% H2SO4. By changing the coagulation temperature from 25 to 45 °C, tensile strength of the films was in the range of 85-139 MPa. Interestingly, the RC35 film coagulated at 35 °C exhibited the highest tensile strength (σb = 139 MPa). The inclusion complex associated with cellulose, NaOH and urea hydrates in the cellulose solution were broken by adding water (non-solvent), leading to the self-association of cellulose to regenerate through rearrangement of the hydrogen bonds. This work provided low-cost and "green" pathway to prepare cellulose films, which is important in industry.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-100
Number of pages6
JournalCarbohydrate Polymers
Volume87
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Jan 2012

Keywords

  • "Green" pathway and low cost
  • Cellulose film
  • Coagulant of water
  • NaOH/urea aqueous solution
  • Packaging material

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