Functionalization of nano-cellulose by coupling agent with green strategy

Nano-cellulose is widely used in the fields of double-hydrophobic interface fabric, high-grade protective clothing, chemical industry and medicine. Although the research of nano-cellulose has received widespread attention, because of its strong intermolecular force, its dispersion in the medium is not ideal. In order to further increase the dispersion of nano-cellulose in the medium, one of the methods used is to weaken the hydrogen bonding between nano-cellulose by chemical route. In this work, nano-cellulose is simply modified by coupling agent in environment-friendly solvent. Different analytical methods are used to verify the successful modification of nano-cellulose. The results show that the dispersibility of the modified nano-cellulose in water is improved, and the thermal stability is enhanced in the range of 300–567℃. It is worth remarking that the transmittance of the modified nano-cellulose in visible light still remains above 85%. This study provides a feasible, simple and environmental-friendly strategy for developing the application of nano-cellulose, especially in the field of photopolymerization, radical polymerization and cross linking reaction.