The desire to incorporate renewable materials into industrial processes and consumer products has made the surface modification of glucan residues of cellulosic materials an area of intense research. In particular, the surface functionalization of nanocellulose is attractive to improve the compatibility of such materials with receiving matrices; then the inherent properties of nanocellulose, such as high tensile strength and bending modulus, can be effectively used to improve the resulting composite materials. To date many surface functionalization approaches have been developed based on both covalent linkages (<i>e.g.,</i> TEMPO oxidation, silanization, transesterification) and non-covalent interactions (<i>e.g.,</i> polymer wrapping and polyphenol association). While these approaches have been largely successful, some key challenges remain, notably the compatibility of surface functionalization schemes with a wide range of solvents and functional groups, and the scalability of processes due to cost and reaction complexity. To address some of these challenges, we have sought to develop a modular surface functionalization approach where using a single, inexpensive triazinyl linker, a range of surface functionalities can be appended to cellulosic materials. The surface chemistry approach developed is compatible with polar and non-polar solvents and a wide range of surface functionalities. We demonstrate this approach by introducing fluorescent, octadecyl, phenyl, vinyl, poly(ethyleneglycol), and alkyne functionalities onto cellulosic materials and thoroughly characterizing the resulting products. In this presentation we will also discuss potential applications of this modular chemistry and how these processes could be scaled.

Versatile surface functionalization of cellulose through modular chemistry

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.