title: Preparation and properties of self-reinforced cellulose composite films from Agave microfibrils using an ionic liquid.
abstract: The applications of natural fibers and their microfibrils are increasing rapidly due to their environment benefits, specific strength properties and renewability. In the present work, we successfully extracted cellulose microfibrils from Agave natural fibers by chemical method. The extracted microfibrils were characterized by chemical analysis. The cellulose microfibrils were found to dissolve in an ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl) to larger extent along with little quantity of undissolved microfibrils. Using this solution, the self-reinforced regenerated cellulose composite films were prepared. The raw fiber, extracted cellulose microfibrils and regenerated cellulose composite films were characterized by FTIR, (13)C CP-MAS NMR, XRD, TGA and SEM techniques. The average tensile strength, modulus and elongation at break of the self-reinforced cellulose composite films were found to be 135 MPa, 8150 MPa and 3.2%, respectively. The high values of tensile strength and modulus were attributed to the self-reinforcement of Agave fibers in their generated matrix. These self-reinforced cellulose biodegradable composite films prepared from renewable source can find applications in packaging field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa. Electronic address: obireddyk80@gmail.com.
authors.forename: K Obi
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Lab of Engineering Plastics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Lab of Engineering Plastics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Osmania University, Hyderabad 500007, India.
authors.forename: A Varada
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Rajulu
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D020894:Microfibrils / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Agave fibers; Cellulose microfibrils; Crystallinity; Ionic liquid; Regenerated cellulose; Spectroscopy