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Gelation of crystalline nanocellulose in the presence of hydroxyethyl cellulose
Author(s) -
Lenfant Gilles,
Heuzey MarieClaude,
van de Ven Theo G. M.,
Carreau Pierre J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.22846
Subject(s) - rheology , nanocellulose , chemical engineering , colloid , viscoelasticity , hydroxyethyl cellulose , cellulose , adsorption , nanoparticle , materials science , viscometer , chemistry , polymer chemistry , viscosity , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
In this work, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was used to induce gelation of electrosterically stabilized cellulose nanocrystal (ECNC) and common cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions. The main goals were to shift the gelation point to low concentrations of nanoparticles and clarify the role of interactions between ECNCs in contrast to CNCs. The rheological properties of CNC suspensions were investigated in the presence of HEC with or without CaCl 2 while ECNC suspensions would be only mixed with HEC since the addition of salt would not alter the viscoelastic properties of the whole system. The structure build‐up kinetics as well as the viscoelastic properties of the suspensions were compared. CaCl 2 was used to induce gelation of CNC suspensions at a solid content as low as 0.2 g/g in the presence of HEC. ECNC suspensions were less sensitive to HEC since the best result obtained for inducing gelation was achieved at a concentration of 4 g/g. All the results presented are explained by the adsorption of HEC on the nanoparticles, which was determined by viscometry. High adsorption level of HEC chains imparted CNCs better colloidal stability in the presence of CaCl 2 as compared to pristine CNCs, whereas it did not affect the ECNC colloidal stability.