119 / 2021-11-10 21:12:12

PREPARATION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE NANOCELLULOSE CRYSTAL FILAMENTS BY MICROFLUIDICS

Microfluidics, Nano cellulose crystals, Flow focusing, Mechanical behavior

Cellulose nanomaterials have high strength and rigidity due to their highly ordered molecular structure, so they are expected to become the basic material for lightweight and high-performance man-made fibers. However, the use of pure nanocellulose to prepare high-performance fibrous filaments is still a challenge. This research successfully designed and demonstrated a microfluidic chip with self-twisting flow focusing. The chip enables the CNC to perform self-twisting in the process of forming a gel, increases the bond between the fibers, improves the mechanical properties of the fibers, and can efficiently and continuously produce highly ordered CNC fiber filaments. The prepared fiber filament has a tensile strength of 400 ± 20 MPa and a Young's modulus of 37.3 ± 3.8 GPa, which is the highest strength of the pure CNC fiber filament prepared at present. Its mechanical properties are also 150% higher than previously reported fiber filaments prepared by pure CNC.