Exploring the Nature of Cellulose Microfibrils

Ultrathin cellulose microfibril fractions were extracted from spruce wood powder using combined delignification, TEMPO-catalyzed oxidation, and sonication processes. Small-angle X-ray scattering of these microfibril fractions in a dilute aqueous suspension (concentration 0.077 wt %) revealed that their shape was in the form of nanostrip with 4 nm width and only about 0.5 nm thicknesses. These dimensions were further confirmed by TEM and AFM measurements. The 0.5 nm thickness implied that the nanostrip could contain only a single layer of cellulose chains. At a higher concentration (0.15 wt %), SAXS analysis indicated that these nanostrips aggregated into a layered structure. The X-ray diffraction of samples collected at different preparation stages suggested that microfibrils were delaminated along the (1 (1) over bar0) planes from the I-beta cellulose crystals. The degree of oxidation and solid-state C-13 NMR characterizations indicated that, in addition to the surface molecules, some inner molecules of microfibrils were also oxidized, facilitating the delamination into cellulose nanostrips.