Studies on the fibre surfaces modified with xylan polyelectrolytes

Xylan was isolated from birch wood chips by using pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE). The extracted xylan was chemically modified yielding three different xylan derivatives (XDs): xylan sulfate (XS), carboxymethyl xylan (CMX) and xylan-4-[N,N,N-trimethylammonium]butyrate chloride (XTMAB). The structure and molecular weight of XDs was determined by using NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The potential utilization of xylan polyelectrolytes for modifying fibre surfaces was assessed by sorption experiments using bleached pine Kraft pulp as substrate. Polyelectrolyte titration method was chosen for estimating the amount of sorbed XDs onto the fibres. The cationic xylan derivative XTMAB had a strong interaction with fibres while the anionic derivatives did not show any sorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) were selected as advanced surface analyses for studying the amount of surface anionic groups and the surface distribution of the XTMAB. XPS and polyelectrolyte titration results suggested that the XTMAB is sorbed onto the fibre surfaces. ToF-SIMS imaging showed that XTMAB was evenly distributed on fibre surfaces.