Sulfoethylated nanofibrillated cellulose: Production and properties

Sulfoethylated nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC_Sulf) was produced by an industrially relevant process. The properties of the NFC_Sulf were compared with those of carboxymethylated nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC_Carb), which has been identified as an attractive NFC for several industrial applications. The investigations revealed that NFC_Sulf is characterized by a higher degree of fibrillation and has superior redispersion properties. Furthermore, NFC_Sulf displays higher stability in varying pH values as compared to NFC_Carb. Hence, NFC_Sulf may be a more attractive alternative than NFC_Carb in applications such as rheological modifiers or adsorbing components in personal care products, in which the performance of NFC must remain unaffected in varying ambient conditions. The superior properties of NFC_Sulf compared to NFC_Carb were proposed to be due to the combination of the unique chemical characteristics of the sulfoethylated reagent, and the larger size of the sulfonate group compared to the carboxymethyl group.