Directed self-assembly of silica nanoparticles in ionic liquid-spun cellulose fibers
Journal article, 2019

The application range of man-made cellulosic fibers is limited by the absence of cost- and manufacturing-efficient strategies for anisotropic hierarchical functionalization. Overcoming these bottlenecks is therefore pivotal in the pursuit of a future bio-based economy. Here, we demonstrate that colloidal silica nanoparticles (NPs), which are cheap, biocompatible and easy to chemically modify, enable the control of the cross-sectional morphology and surface topography of ionic liquid-spun cellulose fibers. These properties are tailored by the silica NPs’ surface chemistry and their entry point during the wet-spinning process (dope solution DSiO2 or coagulation bath CSiO2). For CSiO2-modified fibers, the coagulation mitigator dimethylsulphoxide allows for controlling the surface topography and the amalgamation of the silica NPs into the fiber matrix. For dope-modified fibers, we hypothesize that cellulose chains act as seeds for directed silica NP self-assembly. This results for DSiO2 in discrete micron-sized rods, homogeneously distributed throughout the fiber and for glycidoxy-surface modified DSiO2@GLYEO in nano-sized surface aggregates and a cross-sectional core-shell fiber morphology. Furthermore, the dope-modified fibers display outstanding strength and toughness, which are both characteristic features of biological biocomposites.

Mechanical properties

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Wet-spinning

Surface topography

Biocomposites

Author

Markus Andersson Trojer

RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

Carina Olsson

RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

Jenny Bengtsson

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemical Technology

Artur Hedlund

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemical Technology

Romain Bordes

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

0021-9797 (ISSN) 1095-7103 (eISSN)

Vol. 553 167-176

Subject Categories

Polymer Chemistry

Polymer Technologies

Composite Science and Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.jcis.2019.05.084

PubMed

31202053

More information

Latest update

2/17/2021