Open Access

ARTICLE

Nanocelluloses from Eucalyptus Wood Pulp: A Morphological Comparison

by

Department of Materials Engineering of the Engineering School of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-carlense, 400 - Centro, São Carlos - SP, 13566–590, Brazil

* Corresponding Author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2014, 2(2), 118-122. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2014.634108

Received 06 January 2014; Accepted 09 April 2014;

Abstract

Two nanocelluloses from eucalyptus, namely microfi brillated cellulose (MFC) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), were prepared and compared by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The MFC fi bers are 20–30 nm wide and are composed of very homogeneous bundles of aligned regular elementary fi brils of 3–5 nm diameter. They show long straight portions and short fl exible zones, attributed to crystalline and amorphous zones, respectively. The needle-shaped CNC was approximately 200 nm long and 10 nm wide in the wider portion. A model for the MFC structure, whose fl exible zones are formed by alignment of the amorphous portion of the elementary fi brils, has been proposed. This study throws new light on the ultrastructure of cellulose microfi brils, which is not completely known.

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