title: Obtaining lignin nanoparticles by sonication.
abstract: Lignin, the main natural aromatic polymer was always aroused researchers interest. Currently around 90% of this biomaterial is burned for energy. It has a very complex and complicated structure which depends on the separation method and plant species, what determine difficulties to use as a raw material widely. This research presents a physical method to modify lignin by ultrasonic irradiation in order to obtain nanoparticles. The nanoparticles synthesized were dimensionally and morphologically characterized. At the same time the preoccupations were to determine the structural and compositional changes that occurred after sonication. To achieve this, two types of commercial lignins (wheat straw and Sarkanda grass) were used and the modifications were analyzed by FTIR-spectroscopy, GPC-chromatography, (31)P-NMR-spectroscopy and HSQC0. The results confirm that the compositional and structural changes of nanoparticles obtained are not significantly modified at the intensity applied but depend on the nature of lignin.
authors.affiliation: "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, Department of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, Blvd. Mangeron No 73, 700050 Iasi, Romania. Electronic address: andreigilca@tuiasi.ro.
authors.forename: Iulian Andrei
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Gilca
authors.affiliation: "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection, Department of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, Blvd. Mangeron No 73, 700050 Iasi, Romania.
authors.forename: Valentin I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Popa
authors.affiliation: "Tor Vergata" University of Rome, Department of Chemical Science and Technology, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crestini
mesh_terms: D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013010:Sonication
chemical_list: D008031:Lignin
keywords: Characterization; Lignins; Nanoparticles; Ultrasound