Water cast film formability of sugarcane bagasse xylans favored by side groups

• Published in: Cellulose (London) Vol. 27; no. 13; pp. 7307 - 7320
• Main Authors: Xiang, Zhouyang, Jin, Xuchen, Huang, Caoxing, Li, Lian, Wu, Wanhua, Qi, Haisong, Nishiyama, Yoshiharu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Bagasse; Bioorganic Chemistry; Biopolymers; Ceramics; Chemical Sciences; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Cristallography; Crystallization; Engineering Sciences; Food and Nutrition; Glass; Life Sciences; Material chemistry; Materials; Natural Materials; or physical chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Original Research; Physical Chemistry; Polymer films; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Sugarcane; Sustainable Development; Theoretical and; Xylan; Film formation; Mechanical property; Side group; Crystallization
• ISSN: 0969-0239; 1572-882X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10570-020-03291-7

Hemicellulose, one of the most abundant biopolymers next to cellulose, has been considered as a potential substitute to synthetic polymers. Film casting from water is the most basic route for material applications of xylan. However, depending on plant sources and separation methods, xylans do not always form films and the related mechanism is unclear, which significantly hinders their material applications. We extensively characterized various fractions of bagasse xylan to understand the molecular features promoting the film formation. The side groups of xylans or impurities contributed to the prevention of excessive aggregation or crystallization of xylan molecules, leading to the film-forming capacity. However, once the film is formed, the side groups do not seem to be necessarily contributing to the mechanical resistance.