All-cellulose composites by surface selective dissolution of aligned ligno-cellulosic fibres

All-cellulose composites were successfully prepared by a surface selective dissolution method of aligned ligno-cellulosic fibres using lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide as a solvent. The effect of the immersion time of the aligned fibres in the solvent during preparation was investigated, The structure and mechanical properties of the composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile testing. Optimization of the immersion time resulted in all-cellulose composites with excellent mechanical properties, i.e. a longitudinal tensile strength and Young's modulus of 460 MPa and 28 GPa, respectively. Strong interfacial interaction was also observed for these all-cellulose composites with good interface dominated properties like transverse tensile strengths in the range of 22-40 MPa. The significant advantages of these composites are their biobased and biodegradable character combined with excellent mechanical properties due to their very high fibre volume fraction which makes them as a potential alternative to glass-fibre-reinforced composites. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.