Hornification of cellulose-rich materials – A kinetically trapped state
2023 (English)In: Carbohydrate Polymers, ISSN 0144-8617, E-ISSN 1879-1344, Vol. 318, article id 121132Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The fundamental understanding concerning cellulose-cellulose interactions under wet and dry conditions remains unclear. This is especially true regarding the drying-induced association of cellulose, commonly described as an irreversible phenomenon called hornification. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms behind hornification would contribute to new drying techniques for cellulose-based materials in the pulp and paper industry while at the same time enhancing material properties and facilitating the recyclability of cellulose-rich materials. In the present work, the irreversible joining of cellulose-rich surfaces has been studied by subjecting cellulose nanofibril (CNF) films to different heat treatments to establish a link between reswelling properties, structural characteristics as well as chemical and mechanical analyses. A heating time/temperature dependence was observed for the reswelling of the CNF films, which is related to the extent of hornification and is different for different chemical compositions of the fibrils. Further, the results indicate that hornification is related to a diffusion process and that the reswellability increases very slowly over long time, indicating that equilibrium is not reached. Hence, hornification is suggested to be a kinetically limited phenomenon governed by non-covalent reversible interactions and a time/temperature dependence on their forming and breaking. © 2023 The Authors
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2023. Vol. 318, article id 121132
Keywords [en]
Aggregation, Cellulose nanofibril, Hornification, Kinetics, Swelling, Cellulose, Chemicals, Drying, Materials, Temperature, Cellulose films, Nanofibers, Paper and pulp industry, Cellulose nanofibrils, Cellulose-rich materials, Dry condition, Drying technique, Reswelling, Time-temperature dependence, Trapped state, Wet and dry, Wet conditions
National Category
Paper, Pulp and Fiber Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-65745DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121132Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85163374088OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-65745DiVA, id: diva2:1786196
Note
Funding sponsor: Umeå University, AstraZeneca Mölndal, Chalmers Tekniska Högskola, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Wallenberg Wood Science Center
2023-08-082023-08-082023-08-08Bibliographically approved