UV radiation of cellulose fibers and acrylic acid modified cellulose fibers for improved stiffness in paper

Journal article, 2015

In this study, the strength and stiffness was measured on paper sheets with and without acryl ester functionalization grafted with UV-reactive molecules. Three different monomers with one, two, and three UV-reactive groups, respectively, were reacted with the unsaturated ester. The tri-functional monomer had the most influence on the strength properties of the three monomers and was added in concentrations of 5 to 20 wt% of paper (0.03-0.11 mol eq./AGU). The strength and stiffness properties were measured with tensile tests. An increase in elongation, tensile index, and Young's modulus was seen after irradiation. However, the paper sheets esterified with acrylic acid prior to radiation showed no improvement in stiffness compared to a non-treated paper. As a result, the esterification with acrylic acid to enhance the grafting effect did not have the ability to compensate for the loss in strength caused by the esterification treatment.