Cellulose Nitrates-Blended Composites from Bacterial and Plant-Based Celluloses

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Cellulose nitrates (CNs) are crucial components in energetic materials.
• Bacterial cellulose (BC) and plant-derived celluloses offer unique properties.
• Developing novel CN-based composites is essential for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel cellulose nitrate (CN)-blended composites using bacterial cellulose (BC) and oat-hull cellulose (OHC) for the first time.
• To investigate the influence of different BC-to-OHC mass ratios on composite properties.
• To evaluate the impact of two distinct nitration methods on CN characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of CN-blended composites with varying BC/OHC ratios (70/30, 50/50, 30/70).
• Nitration of cellulose using mixed acids (MAs) or nitric acid/methylene chloride (NA + MC).
• Characterization via SEM, IR spectroscopy, and TGA/DTA analyses.

Main Results:

• Composites exhibited a reticulate fiber nanostructure and basic functional groups.
• CN derived from BC (CN BC) showed higher nitrogen content (12.20-12.32%) than CN from OHC (CN OHC) (11.58-11.60%).
• NA + MC nitration yielded CN with extremely high viscosity (927 mPa·s); TGA/DTA confirmed high purity and energy density (6.14-7.13 kJ/g).

Conclusions:

• CN BC enhances composite stability, structure, and energetic performance.
• CN OHC can reduce the cost of CN-blended composites.
• These novel composites are promising for advanced, high-performance energetic materials.