TY - JOUR
T1 - Assembly of nanoparticles-polyelectrolyte complexes in nanofiber cellulose structures
AU - Garusinghe, Uthpala M.
AU - Raghuwanshi, Vikram S.
AU - Garvey, Christopher J.
AU - Varanasi, Swambabu
AU - Hutchinson, Christopher R.
AU - Batchelor, Warren
AU - Garnier, Gil
PY - 2017/1/5
Y1 - 2017/1/5
N2 - We report the effect of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) addition on the structural assembly of silica nanoparticles (NPs) within a nanocellulose fibre matrix. Paper like composites are fabricated by first forming complexes of NPs with CPAM, then adding those to a suspension of nanocellulose fibres; followed by filtration, pressing and drying of the final suspension. Complementary small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and microscopy (SEM, TEM) investigations of these composites showed a lognormal bimodal distribution of NP sizes. Data analysis allows understanding interparticle interactions within assemblies of SiO2 NPs at the nanometer scale with respect to different dosage of CPAM. Increasing CPAM dosage increases retention of NPs within the cellulose matrix with stronger interparticle interactions and produces composites with smaller pores. The correlation length of NPs, indicative of the size of the NP clusters increased from 30 to 70 nm as the CPAM dosage increased from 16.5 to 330 mg/g NPs. Retention and assembly of SiO2 NPs by varying CPAM dosage results from the balance of different interaction forces between NPs, CPAM and nanocellulose fibres. Understanding the effect of CPAM dosage on the various NP and composite structural conformations enables us to engineer novel hierarchically and functional cellulose based structured materials.
AB - We report the effect of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) addition on the structural assembly of silica nanoparticles (NPs) within a nanocellulose fibre matrix. Paper like composites are fabricated by first forming complexes of NPs with CPAM, then adding those to a suspension of nanocellulose fibres; followed by filtration, pressing and drying of the final suspension. Complementary small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and microscopy (SEM, TEM) investigations of these composites showed a lognormal bimodal distribution of NP sizes. Data analysis allows understanding interparticle interactions within assemblies of SiO2 NPs at the nanometer scale with respect to different dosage of CPAM. Increasing CPAM dosage increases retention of NPs within the cellulose matrix with stronger interparticle interactions and produces composites with smaller pores. The correlation length of NPs, indicative of the size of the NP clusters increased from 30 to 70 nm as the CPAM dosage increased from 16.5 to 330 mg/g NPs. Retention and assembly of SiO2 NPs by varying CPAM dosage results from the balance of different interaction forces between NPs, CPAM and nanocellulose fibres. Understanding the effect of CPAM dosage on the various NP and composite structural conformations enables us to engineer novel hierarchically and functional cellulose based structured materials.
KW - Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)
KW - TEM
KW - Silica nanoparticles (NPs)
KW - Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM)
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85003713719
U2 - 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2016.10.068
DO - 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2016.10.068
M3 - Article
SN - 0927-7757
VL - 513
SP - 373
EP - 379
JO - Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
JF - Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
ER -