Regenerated bamboo fibers are man-made cellulose fibers and have comfortable and antimicrobial properties. In this work, successive alkaline treatments with increasing concentrations were employed to obtain bamboo raw materials with different hemicellulose content. These materials were then dissolved and spun to regenerated fibers with N-methyl-morpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) as solvent. The properties of the raw materials, the viscosity of the spinning solutions, as well as the structural and mechanical properties of the regenerated bamboo fibers were investigated by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Solid state cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) <sup>13</sup>C NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), solution-state <sup>1</sup>H NMR, proton-detected heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) NMR, viscometer and universal tensile tester. The results showed that the removal of hemicelluloses increased the viscosity of spinning solutions and enhance the compactness and mechanical property of the fibers, although negatively affected the crystal structure and the crystallinity of the regenerated fibers. The maximum viscosity of spinning solution and the highest tensile strength of regenerated fiber were observed from the cellulosic materials with 17.5 % hemicelluloses. It was the synergistic result of the changes in surface exposure, molecular weight and degradation of cellulosic substrate during hemicellulose removal and cellulose dissolution process. The removal of the branched hemicelluloses, rather than the unbranched components, was the key to balance these factors and obtain stronger fiber.

Properties of regenerated bamboo fibers prepared from raw materials with different hemicellulose content

249th National Meeting (2015)

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