Effect of enzymatic treatment on the thermal stability of cellulose nanofibrils

In this work, bagasse pulp was used to prepare cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) by enzymatic assisted mechanical treatment. A xylanase pretreatment was applied for varying the hemicellulose content in the pulp fibers, and the contribution of this pretreatment to the post-mechanical treatment was investigated. The results showed that CNFs prepared after xylanase pretreatment exhibited enhanced thermal stability with an increase in crystallinity. However, the overall thermal stability of the CNFs decreased significantly after xylanase was applied directly to the mechanical treated CNFs. The results indicate that the presence of hemicellulose in the fiber could affect the thermal stability of CNFs. The direct application of xylanase to CNFs could affect both the hydrogen bond between the hemicellulose and the cellulose and the covalent bond between the hemicellulose molecules, which partially destroys the internal network structure and reduces of thermal stability of CNFs. Graphic abstract