Cellulose Nanopowder

Cellulose Nanopowder

Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to several thousand units of D-glucose linked to β (1 → 4). Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fibers is 90%, the wood is 40 to 50% and dry hemp is about 57%.

Cellulose is mainly used to produce cardboard and paper. Small amounts are converted into a wide range of products such as cellophane and rayon. Cellulose conversion biofuel energy crops such as cellulosic ethanol have been developed as a renewable fuel. Cellulose for industrial use is mainly obtained with wood pulp and cotton. Cellulose nanocrystals have been used as geometrically and structurally defined model cellulosic filler with few practically useful products. Commercial forms of microcrystalline cellulose as a colloidal system are available as an aqueous suspension at high solid concentration such as Celish, a trade name from Daicel Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), providing a 10% slurry of cellulose nanofibers. Solidified liquid crystals have been applied for optical applications like in security paper. Researchers succeeded in producing optically transparent wood cellulose nanocomposites with the performances of both low thermal expansion and low Young’s modulus and deposited an electroluminescent layer on these flexible, low-CTE and transparent wood cellulose nanocomposites. Cellulose whiskers have also been employed for low thickness polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries at concentrations below 10% to avoid significant decrease in ionic conductivity. Films of high Young’s modulus and low density for application as loudspeaker membranes are obtained from microfibrillated cellulose (may have some amount of cellulose nano whiskers in suspension), and melamine formaldehyde. Affinity membranes permit the purification of molecules based on physical/chemical properties or biological functions rather than molecular weight/size. Rather than operating purely on the sieving mechanism, affinity membranes separation properties are based on the selectivity of the membrane to ‘‘capture’’ molecules, by immobilizing specific ligands onto the membrane surface.