Tuning the Porosity, Water Interaction, and Redispersion of Nanocellulose Hydrogels by Osmotic Dehydration
Valentina Guccini, Josphat Phiri, Jon Trifol, Ville Rissanen, Seyede Maryam Mousavi, Jaana Vapaavuori, Tekla Tammelin, Thaddeus Maloney, Eero Kontturi
Abstract
Osmotic dehydration (OD) was introduced as a method to reproducibly tune the water content and porosity of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) hydrogels. The hierarchical porosity was followed by electron microscopy (pores with a >100 μm diameter) and thermoporosimetry (mesopores), together with mechanical testing, in hydrogels with solid contents ranging from 0.7 to 12 wt %. Furthermore, a reciprocal correlation between proton conductivity and the ratio of water bound to the nanocellulose network was established, suggesting the potential of these systems toward tunable energy materials.
Topics & Concepts
Self-healing hydrogelsNanocellulosePorosityDehydrationChemical engineeringMaterials scienceNanofiberCelluloseOsmosisMesoporous materialWater contentSwellingComposite materialPolymer chemistryChemistryOrganic chemistryMembraneGeotechnical engineeringBiochemistryCatalysisEngineeringAdvanced Cellulose Research StudiesElectrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical ApplicationsAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials