title: Adsorption of polyethylene glycol (PEG) onto cellulose nano-crystals to improve its dispersity.
abstract: In this work, the adsorption of polyethylene glycol (PEG) onto cellulose nano-crystals (CNC) was investigated for preparing re-dispersible dried CNC. Results showed that the re-dispersity of CNC in water can be significantly enhanced using a PEG1000 dosage of 5wt% (based on the dry weight of CNC). The elemental analysis confirmed the adsorption of PEG onto the CNC surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize the dry powder and indicated that the irreversible agglomeration of CNC after drying was essentially eliminated based on the PEG adsorption concept. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) suggested that CNC crystallinity and thermal stability were not affected by the adsorption of PEG. Thus, the adsorption of PEG has great potential for producing re-dispersible powder CNC.
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China; Limerick Pulp & Paper Centre, and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5A3. Electronic address: yangbingwen@tust.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yangbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Xingye
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
authors.forename: Xuhai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China; Limerick Pulp & Paper Centre, and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5A3. Electronic address: yonghao@unb.ca.
authors.forename: Yonghao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ni
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Adsorption; Cellulose nano-crystals (CNC); Polyethylene glycol (PEG); Re-dispersity