Efficient preparation of all cellulose composite films using a plasticizing-rolling method

Efficient manufacturing cellulose is a promising solution to solve severe environmental problems resulted from non-degradable plastics. Herein, we propose a plasticizing-rolling technique to manufacture cellulose featuring high cellulose ratios (50 wt%) and low temperature (65 C). Plasticization effect from plasticizers (BmimCl and LiCl) uniformly plasticizes cellulose while shear effect from rolling destroys the crystal area of cellulose, both increasing the mobility of cellulosic molecular chains. SEM images and XRD analysis reveal prepared films are all cellulose composite (ACC), cellulose I in the core area and cellulose II in the surface area. ACC films have high transparency (81 %), tensile strength (73.6 +/- 4.8 MPa), and thermal stability. The relationship of structure and properties of ACC films was also discussed and a particle-matrix composite model was proposed to analyze high transparency of ACC films. In conclusion, the proposed method presents a potential to efficiently produce highperformance cellulose materials at large scale.

Automated summary

This study proposes a plasticizing-rolling technique to efficiently manufacture high-performance cellulose materials. The plasticization effect and shear effect from plasticizers and rolling increase the mobility of cellulose, resulting in cellulose composites with high transparency, tensile strength, and thermal stability.