Synchrotron X-ray studies have shown that cellulose nanofibers from different sources, such as wood pulp, cotton, jute, and bacterial cellulose, have very high degrees of crystallinity, and are relatively inert chemically, i.e., stable in high acid or alkaline conditions and cannot be dissolved by most organic solvents. Due to its high degrees of crystallinity, bacteria cannot digest those nanofibers easily. Thus, those cost-effective and materials from renewable resources are ideally suited as a base materials component for many applications, including separation membranes1-3) and nanocomposites. Characterizations of cellulose nanofibers and its applications to separation membranes are discussed in the current presentation. The cellulose nanofibers were found to possess the form of ‘strips’ with length in micron range and cross-sectional dimensions in nanometer range, depending on the source material and methods of preparation. The incorporation of such nanofibers could produce cost-effective highly permeable separation membranes for water purification, covering a range from micro-, ultra-, to nano-filtration. Further improvements, based on the directed water channel concept and toward the desalination range, are in progress. Publications 1. Hongyang Ma, Christian Burger, Benjamin S. Hsiao and Benjamin Chu, “Nanofibrous Microfiltration Membrane Based on Cellulose Nanowhiskers,” Biomacromolecules, 13, 180-186 (2012) 2. Ran Wang, Sihui Guan, Anna Sato, Xiao Wang, Zhe Wang, Rui Yang, Benjamin S. Hsiao and Benjamin Chu, “Nanofibrous Microfiltration Membranes Capable of Removing Bacteria, Viruses and Heavy Metal Ions,” J. Membrane Science, 446, 376-382 (2013) 3. Ying Su, Christian Burger, Benjamin S. Hsiao and Benjamin Chu, “Characterization of TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibers by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering,” J. Appl. Cryst., 47, 788-798 (2014) Acknowledgements The Chu/Hsiao team includes coauthors in the publication list (1-3). In particular, Ying Su carried out the cellulose characterizations with help on interpretations by Christian Burger.

Cellulose nanofibers as a key component in separation membranes

249th National Meeting (2015)

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