Suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) produced by the sulfuric acid hydrolysis of three different origins, i.e., cotton, tunicate, and a green alga Cladophora, were mixed with aqueous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution. The CNCs/PVA suspensions were poured into polypropylene petri dishes and allowed to dry at 35°C under horizontal magnetic field ranging from 1 to 8 T. The CNCs/PVA films were subjected to X-ray diffraction analyses. From the recorded images, the orientation of the CNCs in the films was evaluated. The orientation patterns were different depending on the origin of the cellulose; tunicate and Cladophora showed uniaxial orientation, while cotton showed chiral nematic orientation. The orientation degrees of tunicate and Cladophora were higher than the previously reported results for those prepared without PVA. This is probably because the PVA molecules anisotropically aggregated onto the CNC surface enhanced the magnetic anisotropy of CNCs.

Magnetic field induced alignment of cellulose nanocrystals in polyvinyl alcohol suspensions

255th National Meeting (2018)

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