Preparation of Nanocellulose from Nonwood Plant Raw Materials

Abstract—The purpose of this work was to study the possibility of obtaining nanocellulose (NS) by ultrasonic (US) processing of powdered cellulose in a medium of liquid nitrogen (LN). To achieve this goal, it was necessary to determine the effect of the time of ultrasonic treatment in the medium of LN on the dispersed composition, crystallinity index and degree of polymerization (DP) of cellulose samples. Studies were performed using a powder X-ray diffractometer, a laser particle analyzer, and a scanning and transmission electron microscope. The DP of cellulose was determined by the viscosity of its solution in cadoxene by the standard method. It has been found that cryogenic grinding of flax cellulose samples does not lead to significant changes in its structural modification and degree of crystallinity, which indicates the high resistance of this material to such effects. However, ultrasonic exposure in the medium of LN with the subsequent treatment with 25, 45, 65% H2SO4 allows us to obtain cellulose nanospheres with a diameter of 48 to 437 nm and a yield of up to 40%. Unlike other types of nanoparticles (nanofibrillar, nanocrystalline cellulose), cellulose nanospheres have a larger surface area, which opens up the possibility of their effective use for the modification of composite materials.