Electric field-assisted wet spinning to fabricate strong, tough, and continuous nanocellulose long fibers

Continuous fabrication of nanocellulose long fibers (NCLFs) under an alternating current (AC) electric field was conducted by wet spinning cellulose nanofibers (CNF) suspension by adopting an environment-friendly coagulant. The alignment of CNFs in NCLFs under three different AC voltages was investigated at a constant spinning speed and an optimal electric field frequency. Upon application of AC voltage during the wet spinning process, Young's modulus, tensile strength, yield strength, strain-at-break, and toughness of the NCLFs improved dramatically with increasing the applied AC voltage. The fabricated NCLFs at the AC voltage of 900 V exhibited remarkable mechanical properties: Young's modulus of 28 GPa (48% increase), tensile strength of 395 MPa (33% increase), and toughness of 15 MJ/m(3) (49% increase) in comparison to the no-electric field case. The CNF orientation increased with the applied electric voltage increase, as did their dense packing. The NCLFs fabricated using the proposed method are promising for fabricating strong and tough NCLF-reinforced polymer composites.

Automated summary

In this study, nanocellulose long fibers (NCLFs) were continuously fabricated under an alternating current (AC) electric field, leading to improved mechanical properties. With increasing applied AC voltage, the NCLFs exhibited significant enhancements in Young's modulus, tensile strength, and toughness. The proposed method shows promise for fabricating strong and tough NCLF-reinforced polymer composites.