Preparation and mechanism analysis of morphology‐controlled cellulose nanocrystals via compound enzymatic hydrolysis of eucalyptus pulp

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science 2020-03, Vol.137 (9), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Tong, Xin, Shen, Wenhao, Chen, Xiaoquan, Jia, Mengyu, Roux, Jean‐Claude
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cellulase; Cellulose fibers; cellulose nanocrystal; Chemical engineering; Chemical Sciences; compound enzymatic hydrolysis; Enzymes; Eucalyptus; Hydrolysis; Material chemistry; Materials science; Morphology; morphology control; Nanocrystals; Organic chemistry; Polymers; Thermal decomposition; Xylanase
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.48407

ABSTRACT First, making from eucalyptus cellulose fiber, the influences of different compound enzymolysis conditions on the morphology of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were studied. Under the actions of the compound enzyme composed of cellulase and xylanase with the concentration ratio of 9:1, total enzyme concentrations of 10 and 500 U mL−1 and the hydrolysis time of 12 and 5 h, the rod‐like CNCs (length 600 nm, width 30 nm) and the spherical CNCs (40 nm) were obtained, respectively. Subsequently, the crystallinities, chemical structures, and thermal stabilities of the rod‐like and spherical CNCs revealed that, the CNCs structures were still similar to those of the eucalyptus cellulose fiber, the thermal decomposition temperatures of the rod‐like and spherical CNCs (345, 343 °C) were a little lower than that of the eucalyptus cellulose fiber (364 °C). Lastly, the control mechanism of CNC morphology by the compound enzymatic hydrolysis was also discussed. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48407.