Structural Modification of Cellulosic Fabric via Esterification Using Jatropha curcas Seed Oil

Abstract

This paper presents the results of x-ray diffraction of a cellulose fabric treated with oils extracted from the seed of Jatropha curcas; the oils were extracted with hexane under reflux while the fabric was purified by scouring, bleaching and mercerization to remove dirt and coloring matter in order to make it suitable for esterification. Apart from the controlled sample which was un-esterified, other samples of the same fabric were treated with different volume and concentration of the oil under the same temperature. The x-ray diffraction analysis carried out on all samples showed that while the control sample had a sharp single peak at 24.033° all the esterified samples showed broad split Original Research Article 3 of oil. Crystallinity was observed to reduce from 65% in the control to about 63% for esterified fabrics samples and lastly, crystallite size reduced from 9.9 nm to between 5.3 nm to 7.7 nm. The observed structural modifications in treated fabric may have direct influence on the physical, mechanical properties as well as dye-ability of the treated samples. The result of water Imbibition also revealed structural modification as there was a decrease in the amount of water imbibed by esterified fabric, indicating a reduction in the number of OH groups in the new cellulose derivative as revealed in the x-ray analysis. Hence the esterified fabric will be less susceptible to microbial attack during storage.

Assessment of Some Physicochemical Properties of Cellulosic Fabric Esterified Using Varying Volume of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil

“…The percentage yield of the oil after extraction with hexane under reflux was 47.25% [1,16]. The oil remained liquid at room temperature and a light yellow colour.…”

“…The cellulosic fabric was esterified under reflux by varying the volume (10 cm 3 -60 cm 3 ) of oil. The results of the x-ray diffraction revealed structural modification leading to the formation of cellulose monoester with internal properties different from that of the unesterified fabric [1]. The increase in weight and slight resistant to water absorption further proved the presence of a more bulky, hydrophobic ester group in the new cellulose [1,20].…”

“…The results of the x-ray diffraction revealed structural modification leading to the formation of cellulose monoester with internal properties different from that of the unesterified fabric [1]. The increase in weight and slight resistant to water absorption further proved the presence of a more bulky, hydrophobic ester group in the new cellulose [1,20]. It is believed that these structural modifications might be responsible for the observed improvements in the physicochemical properties of the fabrics.…”

“…The interaction between cellulosic fabric and fatty acid of seed oils in order to enhance the properties of the fabric during use or storage has been a subject of intensive investigation recently. X-ray diffraction techniques have revealed that there is possible interaction between OH of cellulose and COOH in the seed oils of Jatropha curcas and Balanites aegyptiaca [1,2]. The elucidated structure was observed to be a cellulose monoester with modified structural properties which include d-spacing, peak width, crystallinity, crystallite size, peak intensity and the angle of diffraction [1,2].…”

“…The reaction between the fibre substrate and the fatty acid takes place in acidic condition as shown in equation 1. (1) The seed oils used for the esterification act as lubricating agent in the cellulose internal structure and help to provide flexibility by replacing the rigid OH bond with a more flexible -O-CO ester bond.…”