Lignocellulose nanofibers prepared by ionic liquid pretreatment and subsequent mechanical nanofibrillation of bagasse powder: Application to esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites

In the present study, we examined the efficacy of choline acetate (ChOAc, a cholinium ionic liquid))-assisted pretreatment of bagasse powder for subsequent mechanical nanofibrillation to produce lignocellulose nanofibers. Bagasse sample with ChOAc pretreatment and subsequent nanofibrillation (ChOAc/NF-bagasse) was prepared and compared to untreated control bagasse sample (control bagasse), bagasse sample with nanofibrillation only (NF-bagasse) and with ChOAc pretreatment only (ChOAc-bagasse). The specific surface area was 0.83 m2/g, 3.1 m(2)/g, 6.3 m(2)/g, and 32 m(2)/g for the control bagasse, ChOAc-bagasse, NF-bagasse, and the ChOAc/NF-bagasse, respectively. Esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites were prepared using the bagasse samples. ChOAc/NF-bagasse exhibited the best dispersion in the composites. The tensile toughness of the composites was 0.52 J/cm(3), 0.73 J/cm(3), 0.92 J/cm(3), and 1.29 J/cm(3) for the composites prepared using control bagasse, ChOAcbagasse, NF-bagasse, and ChOAc/NF-bagasse, respectively. Therefore, ChOAc pretreatment and subsequent nanofibrillation of bagasse powder resulted in enhanced tensile toughness of esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites.