Cellulose forms hierarchically ordered structures both in plant cell walls and in natural polymer based materials like pulp, microcrystalline cellulose, and cellulose whiskers. In these materials parallel cellulose chains are aggregated to form partially crystalline microfibrils, which are further agglomerated into bundles. Interactions between cellulose and other polymers, such as hemicelluloses, are important for e.g., mechanical properties of wood in the direction perpendicular to the fibre axis. Residual hemicellulose also affects the strength of cellulose films.  X-ray scattering and imaging methods are powerful tools for structural characterization of natural polymer based systems. We present results of our recent x-ray diffraction, small angle x-ray scattering, and microtomography studies, which concerned the effects of hemicellulose on the alignment of cellulose microfibrils in the plant cell wall  and on the enzymatic hydrolysis of wood based nanocellulose to fermentable sugars. Possibilities to enhance these studies at the new nanofocus x-ray scattering beamlines at synchrotron facilities will be discussed.

Cellulose nanostructures in wood cell wall and in wood based materials

245th National Meeting (2013)

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