Estimation of aspect ratio of cellulose nanocrystals by viscosity measurement: Influence of aspect ratio distribution and ionic strength

Abstract

The influence of the cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aspect ratio (L/d) distribution and ionic strength of different salts on the L/d estimation by viscosity measurement were investigated. The L/d distribution was controlled by mixing two CNC, with different L/d, which were prepared by acid hydrolysis from wood and bacterial cellulose. The results demonstrated that the L/d distribution did not affect the accuracy of the CNC L/d estimated by viscosity measurements using the Batchelor equation, and the calculated L/d was the number-average L/d. Moreover, monovalent (NaCl), divalent (CaCl2), and trivalent (AlCl3) salts were chosen to study the influence of ionic strength on the CNC L/d estimation by viscosity measurement. It was found that NaCl and CaCl2 could be added to the CNC suspension to screen the electro-viscous effect and estimate the actual physical CNC L/d by viscosity measurement, and the content of NaCl and CaCl2 can be predicted by the Debye-Hückel theory. However, a small amount of AlCl3 induced CNC aggregation and increased intrinsic viscosity and predicted L/d.