Enhanced stabilization of cellulose-lignin hybrid filaments for carbon fiber production.

Herein we investigate the stabilization behavior of a cellulose-lignin composite fibre towards application as a new bio derived precursor for carbon fibres. Carbon fibre materials are in high demand as we move towards a lower emission high-efficiency society. However, the most prominent current carbon fibre precursor is an expensive fossil-based polymer. Over the past decade significant research has focused on using renewable and bio derived alternatives. By blending cellulose and lignin and spinning a fibre with a continuous bi-component matrix a new approach to overcome the current limitations of both these precursors is proposed. A thorough study is conducted here on understanding the stabilization of the new precursors which is a critical step in the carbon fibre process. We show that stabilization times of the composite fibre are significantly reduced in comparison to pure lignin and improvements in mass yield compared to pure cellulose fibres are observed.

Utilization of cotton waste for regenerated cellulose fibres: Influence of degree of polymerization on mechanical properties.

Cotton accounts for 30% of total fibre production worldwide with over 50% of cotton being used for apparel. In the process from cotton bud to finished textile product many steps are required, and significant cotton waste is generated. Typically only 30% of pre consumer cotton is recycled. Here we use cotton waste lint to produce regenerated cellulose fibres (RCF). We find the RCF from waste cotton lint had increased mechanical properties compared to RCF produced from wood pulp. We show that this is likely linked to the higher degree of polymerization (DP) of waste cotton lint. An ionic liquid is used to dissolve the cotton lint and the rheology of the spinning is measured. The properties of the RCF are characterized and compared to wood pulp RCF.

Development of a novel cellulose/duck feather composite fibre regenerated in ionic liquid.

By blending cellulose and duck feather in the common solvent 1-allyl-3-methylimidazoloium chloride, a regenerated composite fibre has been developed with improved fibres over regenerated cellulose fibres (RCF). The mechanical properties of composite fibre was shown to be better than RCF with a 63.7% improvement in tensile strain. Here, we thoroughly characterise the composite fibre and show that the composite fibre has many advantages over RCFs both from a spinning perspective and as a regenerated fibre.

Development of a novel regenerated cellulose composite material.

We report for the first time on a new natural composite material achieved by blending cotton and duck feather using an ionic liquid. The addition of duck feather was found to improve the elasticity, strain at break, by 50% when compared to regenerated cellulose alone. This is a significant finding since regenerated cotton using ionic liquids often suffers from poor elasticity. The improved elasticity is likely due to the regenerated duck feather maintaining its helical structure. The new regenerated cellulose composites were characterized using a combination of dynamic mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy.