Rheological behaviors in the regimes from dilute to concentrated in cellulose solutions dissolved at low temperature

Cellulose was dissolved rapidly in 9.5 wt.-% NaOH/4.5 wt.-% thiourea aqueous solution pre-cooled to -5 degrees C to prepare cellulose solution with different concentrations. The rheological properties of the cellulose solutions in wide concentration regimes from dilute (0.008 wt.-%) to concentrated (4.0 wt.-%) at 25 degrees C were investigated. On the basis of data from the steady-shear flow test, the critical overlap (c*), the entanglement (c(e)) and the gel (c(g)) concentrations of the cellulose solution at 25 degrees C were determined, respectively, to be 0.10 wt.-%, 0.53 wt.-% and 2.50 wt.-%, in accordance with the results of storage modulus (G') versus c by dynamic test. Moreover, the Cox-Merz deviation at relatively low concentrations was in good agreement with the micro-gel particles in dilute regime. As the cellulose concentration increased, a homogeneous 3-dimensional network formed in the cellulose solution in the concentrated regime, and further increasing of the concentration led to micro-phase separation as determined by the time-temperature superposition (tTS). So far, this complex cellulose solution has been successfully described by the concentration regime theory for the first time, and the relatively molecular morphologies in each regime have been determined, providing useful information for the applications of the cellulose solution systems.