Bacterial cellulose as polysaccharide possessing outstanding chemical purity and a unique structure compared with wood cellulose, attracts great attention as a hydrocolloid system. It was shown, that at intense mechanical action on a neat bacterial cellulose film in presence of water, the gel-like dispersions are obtained. They retain stability in time (at least, up to several months) and temperature (at least, up to 60 °C) without macro-phase separation on aqueous and cellulose phases. The main indicator of the stability is constant viscosity values in time, as well as fulfilling the Arrhenius dependence for temperature dependence of viscosity. Flow curves of diluted dispersions (BC content less than 1.23%) show strong non-Newtonian behavior over the entire range of shear rates. It is similar with dispersions of micro- and nanocrystalline cellulose, but the absolute viscosity value is much higher in the case of BC due to more long fibrils forming more dense entanglements network than in other cases. Measuring the viscosity in increase and decrease shear rate modes indicate an existence of hysteresis loop, i.e., thixotropic behavior with time lag for recovering the structural network. MCC and NCC dispersions even at cellulose content more than 5% do not demonstrate such behavior. According to oscillatory measurements, viscoelastic behavior of dispersions corresponds to gel-like systems with almost total independence of moduli on frequency and essentially higher values of the storage modulus compared with the loss modulus.
By means of in situ melt polycondensation of polyethylenterephathalate accompanied with simultaneous reduction of introduced graphene oxide, the composite of polyethylenterephathalate filled with reduced graphene oxide was prepared. Melting and crystallization of the reduced graphene oxide – polyethyleneterephthalate composite was studied by the differential scanning calorimetry method, and the rheological test was carried out by rotational rheometry and compared to the pristine polyethylenterephathalate. The morphology of the reduced graphene oxide – polyethyleneterephthalate composite was studied using optical microscopy. The reduced graphene oxide was isolated from the reduced graphene oxide – polyethyleneterephthalate composite and characterized by thermogravimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-Ray diffraction methods. Since a part of polymer could not be removed from reduced graphene oxide particles by trifluoroacetic acid, the hypothesis about probable grafting of polyethyleneterephthalate on reduced graphene oxide sheets was suggested. Rheological behaviour of the reduced graphene oxide – polyethyleneterephthalate composite melt confirms this suggestion. According to the calculations based on thermogravimetry, the reduced graphene oxide, isolated from the reduced graphene oxide – polyethyleneterephthalate composite, consists of about 80% polyethyleneterephthalate.
Comparative studies of the structure and thermal behavior of cellulose and composite precursors with additives of silyl-substituted acetylene and alkoxysilanes were carried out. It is shown that the introduction of silicon-containing additives into the cellulose matrix influenced the thermal behavior of the composite fibers and the carbon yield after carbonization. Comparison of the activation energies of the thermal decomposition reaction renders it possible to determine the type of additive and its concentration, which reduces the energy necessary for pyrolysis. It is shown that the C/O ratio in the additive and the presence of the Si–C bond affected the activation energy and the temperature of the beginning and the end of the pyrolysis reaction.
Replacing the aqueous coagulation bath with an alcoholic one during spinning cellulose fibers (films) from solutions in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide leads to a radical restructuring of the hydrogen bonds net of cellulose and, as a result, to a change in the structure and properties of the resulting material. By the method of optical interferometry, it was possible to identify the intrinsic features of the interaction of the solvent and isomeric alcohols and to construct phase diagrams of binary systems describing the crystalline equilibrium. Knowledge of the phase states of the system at different temperatures renders it possible to exclude the process of solvent crystallization and conduct the spinning in pseudo-homogeneous conditions. The structure and morphology of samples were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods for a specific coagulant. When the solution under certain conditions is coagulated at contact with alcohol, the solvent may be in a glassy state, whereas, when at coagulation in water, an amorphous-crystalline structure is formed. The structural features of cellulose films obtained by coagulation of solutions with water and alcohols help to select potential engineering or functional materials (textile, packaging, membranes, etc.), in which their qualities will manifest to the best extent.
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