Anisotropic Elastic Properties of Cellulose Measured Using Inelastic X-ray Scattering

Plant fibers such as linen are remarkably stiff materials in the longitudinal direction of the fiber. As plant cell walls are composites made of cellulose nanocrystals, the so-called microfibrils, embedded in a disordered matrix, those nanocrystals should exhibit an even higher elastic modulus G. We...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMacromolecules Vol. 41; no. 24; pp. 9755 - 9759
Main Authors Diddens, Imke, Murphy, Bridget, Krisch, Michael, Müller, Martin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 23.12.2008
Subjects
Applied sciences
Cellulose and derivatives
Exact sciences and technology
Fibers and threads
Forms of application and semi-finished materials
Natural polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Polymer industry, paints, wood
Technology of polymers
Elastic modulus
Flax fiber
Sound velocity measurement
Oriented polymer
Inelastic scattering
Anisotropy
Cellulose
Mechanical properties
X ray scattering
Measurement method
Experimental study
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Plant fibers such as linen are remarkably stiff materials in the longitudinal direction of the fiber. As plant cell walls are composites made of cellulose nanocrystals, the so-called microfibrils, embedded in a disordered matrix, those nanocrystals should exhibit an even higher elastic modulus G. We have determined the elastic properties of cellulose microfibrils via the sound velocities measured by inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS). The IXS technique is particularly sensitive to crystal properties by discriminating the contribution of disordered material. A strong anisotropy is observed, with a much lower elastic modulus perpendicular to the fiber direction (G 1 = 15 GPa) than parallel to it (G 2 = 220 GPa). The latter modulus is considerably higher than all values previously determined and will have a significant impact on models for the elastic properties of cellulose microfibrils and of composites based on them.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma801796u