Single step functionalization of celluloses with differing degrees of reactivity as a route for in situ production of all-cellulose nanocomposites

A method of manufacturing all-cellulose nanocomposites using a single-step functionalization of two different celluloses with differing reactivities is presented. All-cellulose nanocomposites are produced by esterification of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in pyridine with hexanoic acid in the presence of bacterial cellulose (BC) followed by solvent removal. Neat MCC is more susceptible to esterification, with an accessible amount of hydroxyl groups of 1.79 compared to BC, with an accessible hydroxyl group content of 0.80. As a result, neat MCC undergoes severe bulk modification, turning into a toluene-soluble cellulose hexanoate (C-6 -MCC) while BC undergoes surface-only modification. Solution casted C-6 -MCC films have a tensile modulus and strength of 0.99 GPa and 23.1 MPa, respectively. The presence of 5 wt.% BC in C-6 -MCC leads to an increase in tensile modulus and strength of the resulting nanocomposites to 1.42 GPa and 28.4 MPa, respectively.