The Role of Eucalyptus Species on the Structural and Thermal Performance of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) Isolated by Acid Hydrolysis

Polymers

Pablo Reyes-Contreras¹  Pabla Andrea Barra²  Isabel Carrillo-Varela³  Angels Serra⁴  José David Badia⁵  Regis Teixeira Mendonça⁶  Oscar Gil-Castell⁷  Amparo Ribes-Greus⁷ 

[1] Centro Nacional de Excelencia para la Industria de la Madera (CENAMAD), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 8320000, Chile;Centro de Excelencia en Nanotecnología (CEN), Román Díaz 532, Providencia, Santiago 7500000, Chile;Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados, CIPA, Avenida Collao 1202, Edificio de Laboratorios, Concepción 4030000, Chile;Department of Analytical and Organic Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/Marcel·lí Domingo s/n, 43007 Tarragona, Spain;Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Universitat de València, Avinguda de la Universitat s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Spain;Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile;Instituto de Tecnología de Materiales (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camí de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain;

关键词: cellulose nanocrystals (CNC);    eucalyptus;    crystallinity;    thermal stability;    kinetic analysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym14030423

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are attractive materials due to their renewable nature, high surface-to-volume ratio, crystallinity, biodegradability, anisotropic performance, or available hydroxyl groups. However, their source and obtaining pathway determine their subsequent performance. This work evaluates cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) obtained from four different eucalyptus species by acid hydrolysis, i.e., E. benthamii, E. globulus, E. smithii, and the hybrid En × Eg. During preparation, CNCs incorporated sulphate groups to their structures, which highlighted dissimilar reactivities, as given by the calculated sulphate index (0.21, 0.97, 0.73 and 0.85, respectively). Although the impact of the incorporation of sulphate groups on the crystalline structure was committed, changes in the hydrophilicity and water retention ability or thermal stability were observed. These effects were also corroborated by the apparent activation energy during thermal decomposition obtained through kinetic analysis. Low-sulphated CNCs (E. benthamii) involved hints of a more crystalline structure along with less water retention ability, higher thermal stability, and greater average apparent activation energy (233 kJ·mol⁻¹) during decomposition. Conversely, the high-sulphated species (E. globulus) involved higher reactivity during preparation that endorsed a little greater water retention ability and lower thermal stability, with subsequently less average apparent activation energy (185 kJ·mol⁻¹). The E. smithii (212 kJ·mol⁻¹) and En × Eg (196 kJ·mol⁻¹) showed an intermediate behavior according to their sulphate index.

【 授权许可】

Unknown