Lignocellulose nanofibers prepared by ionic liquid pretreatment and subsequent mechanical nanofibrillation of bagasse powder: Application to esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites.

In the present study, we examined the efficacy of choline acetate (ChOAc, a cholinium ionic liquid))-assisted pretreatment of bagasse powder for subsequent mechanical nanofibrillation to produce lignocellulose nanofibers. Bagasse sample with ChOAc pretreatment and subsequent nanofibrillation (ChOAc/NF-bagasse) was prepared and compared to untreated control bagasse sample (control bagasse), bagasse sample with nanofibrillation only (NF-bagasse) and with ChOAc pretreatment only (ChOAc-bagasse). The specific surface area was 0.83m2/g, 3.1m2/g, 6.3m2/g, and 32m2/g for the control bagasse, ChOAc-bagasse, NF-bagasse, and the ChOAc/NF-bagasse, respectively. Esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites were prepared using the bagasse samples. ChOAc/NF-bagasse exhibited the best dispersion in the composites. The tensile toughness of the composites was 0.52J/cm3, 0.73J/cm3, 0.92J/cm3, and 1.29J/cm3 for the composites prepared using control bagasse, ChOAc-bagasse, NF-bagasse, and ChOAc/NF-bagasse, respectively. Therefore, ChOAc pretreatment and subsequent nanofibrillation of bagasse powder resulted in enhanced tensile toughness of esterified bagasse/polypropylene composites.