Optical and mechanical properties of nanofibrillated cellulose : Toward a robust platform for next-generation green technologies
Delgado Simao, Claudia (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Reparaz, Juan Sebastian (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Wagner, Markus R.. (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Graczykowski, Bartlomiej (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Kreuzer, Martin (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Ruiz-Blanco, Yasser (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
García, Yamila (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Malho, Jani-Markus (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)
Goñi, Alejandro (Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona)
Ahopelto, Jouni (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)
Sotomayor Torres, Clivia M. (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2015
Abstract:	Nanofibrillated cellulose, a polymer that can be obtained from one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature, is being increasingly explored due to its outstanding properties for packaging and device applications. Still, open challenges in engineering its intrinsic properties remain to address. To elucidate the optical and mechanical stability of nanofibrillated cellulose as a standalone platform, herein we report on three main findings: (i) for the first time an experimental determination of the optical bandgap of nanofibrillated cellulose, important for future modeling purposes, based on the onset of the optical bandgap of the nanofibrillated cellulose film at E ≈ 275 nm (4. 5 eV), obtained using absorption and cathodoluminescence measurements. In addition, comparing this result with ab-initio calculations of the electronic structure the exciton binding energy is estimated to be E ≈ 800 meV; (ii) hydrostatic pressure experiments revealed that nanofibrillated cellulose is structurally stable at least up to 1. 2 GPa; and (iii) surface elastic properties with repeatability better than 5% were observed under moisture cycles with changes of the Young modulus as large as 65%. The results obtained show the precise determination of significant properties as elastic properties and interactions that are compared with similar works and, moreover, demonstrate that nanofibrillated cellulose properties can be reversibly controlled, supporting the extended potential of nanofibrillated cellulose as a robust platform for green-technology applications.
Grants:	European Commission 628197 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT-2012-31392
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Published in:	Carbohydrate polymers, Vol. 126 (August 2015) , p. 40-46, ISSN 0144-8617

DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.03.032

Postprint 25 p, 1.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles