Force-Induced Alignment of Nanofibrillated Bacterial Cellulose for the Enhancement of Cellulose Composite Macrofibers.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial cellulose, as an important renewable bioresource, exhibits excellent mechanical properties along with intrinsic biodegradability. It is expected to replace non-degradable plastics and reduce severe environmental pollution. In this study, using dry jet-wet spinning and stretching methods, we fabricate cellulose composite macrofibers using nanofibrillated bacterial cellulose (BCNFs) which were obtained by agitated fermentation. Ionic liquid (IL) was used as a solvent to perform wet spinning. In this process, force-induced alignment of BCNFs was applied to enhance the mechanical properties of the macrofibers. The results of scanning electron microscopy revealed the well-aligned structure of BCNF along the fiber axis. The fiber prepared with an extrusion rate of 30 m min^-1 and a stretching ratio of 46% exhibited a strength of 174 MPa and a Young's modulus of 13.7 GPa. In addition, we investigated the co-spinning of carboxymethyl cellulose-containing BCNF with chitosan using IL as a "container", which indicated the compatibility of BCNFs with other polysaccharides. Recycling of the ionic liquid was also verified to validate the sustainability of our strategy. This study provides a scalable method to fabricate bacterial cellulose composite fibers, which can be applied in the textile or biomaterial industries with further functionalization.

SUBMITTER: Wang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10778714 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature