TY - JOUR
T1 - Cellulosic fibers with high aspect ratio from cornhusks via controlled swelling and alkaline penetration
AU - Ma, Zhuanzhuan
AU - Pan, Gangwei
AU - Xu, Helan
AU - Huang, Yiling
AU - Yang, Yiqi
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was financially supported by the Agricultural Research Division , U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Multistate Research Project S-1054 (NEB 37-037), Hatch Act), and the Agricultural Research Division at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln , and Nebraska Corn Board . This research was performed in part in Central Facilities of the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, which is supported by the Nebraska Research Initiative . The authors appreciate John and Louise Skala Fellowship, Grace Margaret Morton Fellowship, and AATCC Foundation Student Research Support Grants for Zhuanzhuan Ma, and China Scholarship Council for providing living expenses for Gangwei Pan. The authors would also acknowledge Loren Isom for helping collect cornhusks.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/6/25
Y1 - 2015/6/25
N2 - Cellulosic fibers with high aspect ratio have been firstly obtained from cornhusks via controlled swelling in organic solvent and simultaneous tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) post treatment within restricted depth. Cornhusks, with around 42% cellulose content, are a copious and inexpensive source for natural fibers. However, cornhusk fibers at 20 tex obtained via small-molecule alkaline extraction were too coarse for textile applications. Continuous NaOH treatment would result in fine fibers but with length of about 0.5-1.5 mm, too short for textile use. In this research, post treatment using TMAOH and under controlled swelling significantly reduced fineness of cornhusk fibers from 21.3 ± 2.88 to 5.72 ± 0.21 tex. Fiber length was reduced from 105.47 ± 10.03 to 47.2 ± 27.4 mm. The cornhusk fibers had more oriented microstructures and cellulose content increased to 84.47%. Besides, cornhusk fibers had similar tenacity, longer elongation, and lower modulus compared to cotton and linen, which endowed them with durability and flexibility.
AB - Cellulosic fibers with high aspect ratio have been firstly obtained from cornhusks via controlled swelling in organic solvent and simultaneous tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) post treatment within restricted depth. Cornhusks, with around 42% cellulose content, are a copious and inexpensive source for natural fibers. However, cornhusk fibers at 20 tex obtained via small-molecule alkaline extraction were too coarse for textile applications. Continuous NaOH treatment would result in fine fibers but with length of about 0.5-1.5 mm, too short for textile use. In this research, post treatment using TMAOH and under controlled swelling significantly reduced fineness of cornhusk fibers from 21.3 ± 2.88 to 5.72 ± 0.21 tex. Fiber length was reduced from 105.47 ± 10.03 to 47.2 ± 27.4 mm. The cornhusk fibers had more oriented microstructures and cellulose content increased to 84.47%. Besides, cornhusk fibers had similar tenacity, longer elongation, and lower modulus compared to cotton and linen, which endowed them with durability and flexibility.
KW - Aspect ratio
KW - Cornhusk
KW - Natural cellulose fiber
KW - Organic solvent
KW - Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH)
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U2 - 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.02.008
DO - 10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.02.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 25839793
AN - SCOPUS:84923530077
SN - 0144-8617
VL - 124
SP - 50
EP - 56
JO - Carbohydrate Polymers
JF - Carbohydrate Polymers
ER -