The use of eco-friendly bioplastics has become a viable solution to reduce the accumulation of petrochemical products in the biosphere and to decrease microplastic contamination. In this study, we used low-quality cotton fibers that lack textile applications to prepare cellulose-based bioplastics. Cotton fibers were dissolved in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride solvent system followed by conversion of cellulose solutions to strong, transparent, and flexible films by means of casting, gelation, regeneration, plasticization, and hot-pressing. Films were characterized using different analytical techniques to evaluate their physiochemical and mechanical properties. Compared to raw cotton cellulose, regenerated and hot-pressed cellulose films showed amorphous structures and excellent tensile characteristics. The physical and mechanical properties of cellulose films, such as deformation recovery, flexibility, homogeneity, elongation, and surface roughness, were significantly improved by means of plasticization and hot-pressing. Because glycerol plasticization increased the surface hydrophilicity of the films, plasma-induced surface grafting of oleic acid imparted hydrophobicity to cellulose films. This study presents a new avenue for using low-quality cotton fibers that are usually sold at a discounted price to produce value-added bioproducts for different applications.

Preparation and characterization of transparent and flexible cellulose film produced from low-quality cotton fibers

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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