title: Direct Interfacial Modification of Nanocellulose Films for Thermoresponsive Membrane Templates.
abstract: This letter proposes a strategy to construct tunable films combining the physical characteristics of cellulose nanofibrils and smart polymers for membrane applications. A functional membrane template was obtained by first fabricating a water stable film from cellulose nanofibrils and subsequently surface grafting it with a thermoresponsive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). The behavior of the membrane template was dependent on temperature. The increment in slope of relative water permeance around the lower critical solution temperature of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) increased from 18 to 100% upon polymer attachment. Although the membrane template essentially consisted of wood-based materials, the benefits of smart synthetic polymers were achieved.
authors.affiliation: High Performance Fibre Products, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd , FI-02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hakalahti
authors.affiliation: Polymer & Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Institute for Materials Chemistry & Research, University of Vienna , Währingerstrasse 42, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.|Polymer & Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mautner
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Products Technology, School of Chemical Technology, Aalto University , 02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena-Sisko
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.affiliation: High Performance Fibre Products, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd , FI-02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hänninen
authors.affiliation: High Performance Fibre Products, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd , FI-02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Setälä
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Products Technology, School of Chemical Technology, Aalto University , 02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kontturi
authors.affiliation: Polymer & Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Institute for Materials Chemistry & Research, University of Vienna , Währingerstrasse 42, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.|Polymer & Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London , South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bismarck
authors.affiliation: High Performance Fibre Products, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd , FI-02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Tekla
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tammelin
keywords: cellulose nanofibrils; films; membranes; poly(N-isopropylacrylamide); surface modification; thermoresponsive polymers