In parallel to investigations on the preparation and application of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), the elucidation of their inner structure has become a major issue during the past years. Microscopic techniques such as AFM and TEM give insights into the outer shape and the morphology of the CNC deposited on surfaces, while scattering techniques such as static light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), or small angle neutron scattering (SANS) are able to provide a deeper insight into the inner structure of CNC - also in suspension. In case of SAXS, the inverse Fourier transformation (IFT) is widely used for the evaluation of small angle scattering data. However, the main disadvantage of IFT is its limitation to diluted systems, where interparticle interactions are considered to be negligible due to an essentially larger average distance between the particles compared to their dimensions. For more concentrated solutions, this assumption is not fully valid, and therefore, interparticle scattering must be taken into consideration for data evaluation. In our opinion, the most convenient method to tackle this problem is to use the so-called Generalized Indirect Fourier transformation (GIFT). In principle, this method offers several advantages: the data evaluation can be done for concentrated solutions, it requires only a minimum amount of a-priori information, it is capable of determining P(q) and S(q) simultaneously, and the influence of particles with charged groups can be evaluated. In this paper, we will focus on the applicability of the GIFT approach to determine structural parameters of CNC obtained by sulfuric acid hydrolysis and we will outline several advantages over “simple” IFT methods.

GIFT for the analysis of cellulose nanocrystals by SAXS

251st National Meeting (2016)

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