Sulfoethylated nanofibrillated cellulose: Production and properties.

Sulfoethylated nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was produced by an industrially relevant process. The properties of the NFC were compared with those of carboxymethylated nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), which has been identified as an attractive NFC for several industrial applications. The investigations revealed that NFC is characterized by a higher degree of fibrillation and has superior redispersion properties. Furthermore, NFC displays higher stability in varying pH values as compared to NFC. Hence, NFC may be a more attractive alternative than NFC in applications such as rheological modifiers or adsorbing components in personal care products, in which the performance of NFC must remain unaffected in varying ambient conditions. The superior properties of NFC compared to NFC were proposed to be due to the combination of the unique chemical characteristics of the sulfoethylated reagent, and the larger size of the sulfonate group compared to the carboxymethyl group.