%0 Journal Article
%T Scanning Electron Microscopy and Kinetic Studies of Ketene-Acetylated Wood/Cellulose High-Density Polyethylene Blends
%A Yakubu Azeh
%A Gabriel Ademola Olatunji
%A Paul Andrew Mamza
%J International Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/456491
%X Acetylated cellulose and wood cellulose as well as untreated cellulose polyethylene blends were subjected to kinetic studies using water, 0.5£¿M NaOH, and 0.5£¿M HCl solutions in order to investigate their absorbent properties at 0.5/1.0 cellulose/wood cellulose/polyethylene matrix. The results of the absorption studies showed that the untreated cellulose and wood cellulose blends absorbed water and the acid and alkali solutions higher than the treated samples, which showed a reduction in acid, alkali, and water uptake. In this work, the effects of acetylation on the morphological studies of the polyethylene blends were obvious. The presence of acetyl groups improved the interfacial bonding between the polymer matrix and cellulose as well as the wood cellulose fibers, as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). 1. Introduction A better understanding of the chemical composition and surface properties/chemistry of natural fibers is necessary for ease of developing natural fiber-reinforced composites/blends. Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer in nature and its biosynthesis, chemistry, and ultrastructure remain an active field of study. Over the past decades, the interest in sustainability and green chemistry has led to a renewed interest in novel cellulosic materials and composites derived from a variety of cellulosic materials [1]. Cellulose is a homopolysaccharide which is a highly stable chain composed of 12,000 of£¿£¿ -D-glucopyranose monomeric units linked together by covalently bonded£¿£¿ £¿¡ú£¿4-glycosidic linkages in long chains, resulting in bundles known as microfibrils that can be easily cleaved by mineral acids [2, 3]. Each£¿£¿ -D-glucopyranose unit is oriented at an angle of 180¡ã from the succeeding glucose unit [2]. Native cellulose is composed of amorphous and crystalline domains. The crystalline domains are highly ordered and much more stable to acid hydrolysis compared to their amorphous counterparts [3]. Native cellulose based materials (wood, hemp, cotton, linen, etc.) have been used as construction materials [4, 5]. Cellulose is the basic structural component of all plant fibers, the most important organic biopolymer produced by plants and the most abundant renewable polymer resource available today worldwide [6]. Cellulose is a polymer raw material which has served mankind as a construction material, mainly in the form of solid wood and textile fibers, such as cotton or flax, or in the form of paper and board for many decades. On the other hand, cellulose is a versatile starting material for chemical conversions aiming at the
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