The properties and application of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are strongly dependent on their features, such as dimension, morphology, aggregation structure, and surface characteristics. Sulfated cellulose promises huge prospects for its unique biological properties including antiviral, anticoagulative and antimicrobial activities and sulfated cellulose nanofibers was widely used in fields such as tissue engineering, composite materials and environment. By using a sulfamic acid/DMF system, sulfated cellulose nanofibers (SCNFs) were prepared from cotton fibers by combining sulfated modification with mechanical treatment process. The yield of obtained SCNFs can be high up to 97%. The width and length of SCNFs were in range of 3-8 nm and 200 - 800 nm, respectively. The effects of sulfation pretreatment such as molar ratio, reaction temperature and time on the features of nanofibers were investigated. It was found that the degree of substitution could be tailored from 0.11 to 0.48 during the modification process. Moreover, the dimension and degree of polymerization of SCNFs can also be regulated by varying conditions of the chemical pretreatment. By using similar process, sulfated nanofibers can be efficiently fabricated from other cellulose-based materials such as holocellulose and lignocellulose. It should be noted that, sulfated tunicate nanofibers with a high aspect ratio can be rapidly achieved (only 5 mins of chemical pretreatment) from tunicate cellulose by using this method.

Fabrication of tailored cellulose-based nanofibers via sulfation pretreatment

ACS Spring 2022

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