Fabrication of Cellulose-Based Biopolymer Optical Fibers and Their Theoretical Attenuation Limit

Abstract

Currently, almost all polymer optical materials are derived from fossil resources with known consequences for the environment. In this work, a processing route to obtain cellulose-based biopolymer optical fibers is presented. For this purpose, the optical properties such as the transmission and the refractive index dispersion of regenerated cellulose, cellulose diacetate, cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose acetate butyrate were determined from planar films. Cellulose fibers were produced using a simple wet-spinning setup. They were examined pure and also coated with the cellulose derivatives to obtain core–cladding-structured optical fibers. The cellulose-based optical fibers exhibit minimum attenuations between 56 and 82 dB m–1 at around 860 nm. The ultimate transmission loss limit of the cellulose-based optical fibers was simulated to characterize the attenuation progression. By reducing extrinsic losses, cellulose-based biopolymer optical fibers could attain theoretical attenuation minima of 84.6 × 10–3 dB m–1 (507 nm), 320 × 10–3 dB m–1 (674 nm), and 745.2 × 10–3 dB m–1 (837 nm) and might substitute fossil-based polymer optical fibers in the future.

Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) Optical Fibers for Environment Sensing and Short-Range Optical Signal Transmission

“… 37 , 38 In the case of fibers, yellow coloration has been described previously for regenerated cellulose fibers elsewhere. 4 Nonetheless, it was confirmed via ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) that CMC does not undergo major chemical changes upon heat treatment at 160 °C for 10 min and also does not suffer extensive mass loss ( Figure S7a,b in the Supporting Information). It must be noted that the heat treatment tests and further sensor demonstrations in this work have been performed using the 16G sample as it showed the best optical performance and easiest handling.…”

“…For instance, commercial POFs made of PS, PC, and PMMA exhibit attenuation values of approximately 330 dB·km –1 (570 nm), 600 dB·km –1 (670 nm), and 55 dB·km –1 (538 nm), respectively. 4 Evidently, attenuation values for POFs are 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than commercial GOFs, and thus, their applications are limited to shorter distance end uses such as automobiles, medical devices, and decorative illumination. 5 A major drawback of POF sensors is their low operating temperature range, which is caused by glass transition in polymer materials.…”

“… 19 Using a similar architecture, Reimer et al recently reported OFs made from cellulose regenerated from N, N -dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and lithium chloride (LiCl) with cellulose acetate derivatives as cladding materials. 20 Hynninen et al presented a regeneration-free approach to prepare OFs based on methylcellulose (MC), where OFs were prepared from MC hydrogels. 21 Moreover, gold nanoclusters were incorporated into the MC fiber matrix to impart UV photostability and to demonstrate mercury ion sensing.…”

“…These organic materials exhibit a low-attenuation high-transmission window in the visible wavelength range (400–700 nm), are flexible and bendable, and allow the production of fiber with a larger diameter (∼1 mm). For instance, commercial POFs made of PS, PC, and PMMA exhibit attenuation values of approximately 330 dB·km –1 (570 nm), 600 dB·km –1 (670 nm), and 55 dB·km –1 (538 nm), respectively . Evidently, attenuation values for POFs are 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than commercial GOFs, and thus, their applications are limited to shorter distance end uses such as automobiles, medical devices, and decorative illumination .…”

“…A major drawback of POF sensors is their low operating temperature range, which is caused by glass transition in polymer materials. It is typically below 80 °C for PMMA and below 125 °C with PC …”