Crystalline structure and morphological properties of porous cellulose/clay composites: The effect of water and ethanol as coagulants

• Cellulose composites were prepared.
• Crystalline and morphological properties were evaluated.
• Coagulant and nanoclay effects were reported.

In this study, cellulose foams incorporated with surface-modified montmorillonite (SM-MMT) were prepared following NaOH dissolution and regeneration into water and ethanol. According to the SEM images, the type of coagulating agent significantly affected the morphological properties of composite foams. The crystalline parameters were evaluated using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), which showed an increase in crystal size as the effect of SM-MMT; however, the crystal size decreased for the samples treated with ethanol. The distribution of hydrogen bond types was also investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Resolving the hydrogen-bonded OH stretching band at around 3340 into five bands indicated that presence of SM-MMT caused the shift of OH-stretching vibration band to lower wave number due to new hydrogen bonds between cellulose and SM-MMT. In general, the results indicated a change in the contents of the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds when the coagulant was changed or SM-MMT was incorporated.