Study on the quaternization reaction conditions for cationic cellulose nanofibril

Abstract

In this study, cationic cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were prepared from laboratory-made HwBKP CNFs via a quaternization reaction as a post-treatment using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), and their major properties were investigated. The effects of adding GMA on the zeta potential and other main properties of cationic CNFs were analyzed to determine the minimum amount of GMA that must be added in order to acquire uniform cationic CNFs. The average zeta potential of cationic CNFs increased linearly in proportion to the amount of GMA added, and the distribution of zeta potential showed that the minimum amount of GMA that must be added to oven-dried CNF in order to acquire completely cationic CNFs is 0.6%. As the quaternization reaction proceeded, no significant change in low-shear viscosity and average particle size of cationic CNFs was observed. There was also no change in the fiber width of cationic CNFs, because no further fibrillation or fiber cleavage of CNFs occurred as a result of the quaternization reaction. It was concluded that uniform cationic CNF can be produced without any changes in physical properties when the quaternization reaction is carried out by post-treatment using 0.6% GMA. ? 2019 Korean Technical Assoc. of the Pulp and Paper Industry. All rights reserved.