Introduction of aldehyde vs. carboxylic groups to cellulose nanofibers using laccase/TEMPO mediated oxidation

• Terminal aldehyde groups are formed during the isolation of CNFs.
• 140% additional C6-located aldehydes are created using laccase/4-Amino TEMPO.
• Only C6-aldehydes are transformed to carboxyl's using Cannizzaro reaction.
• Covalent hemiacetal linkages between C6-aldehydes and hydroxyls may be formed.

The chemo-enzymatic modification of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) using laccase as biocatalysts and TEMPO or 4-Amino-TEMPO as mediators under mild aqueous conditions (pH 5, 30 °C) has been investigated to introduce surface active aldehyde groups. 4-Amino TEMPO turned out to be kinetically 0.5-times (50%) more active mediator, resulting to oxoammonium cation intermediacy generated and its in situ regeneration during the modification of CNFs. Accordingly, beside of around 750 mmol/kg terminally-located aldehydes, originated during CNFs isolation, the reaction resulted to about 140% increase of C6-located aldehydes at optimal conditions, without reducing CNFs crystallinity. While only the C6-aldehydes were wholly transformed into the carboxyls after additional post-treatment using NaOH according to the Cannizzaro reaction, the post-oxidation with air-oxygen in EtOH/water medium or NaClO2 resulted to no- or very small amounts of carboxyls created, respectively, at a simultaneous loss of all C6- and some terminal-aldehydes in the latter due to the formation of highly-resistant hemiacetal covalent linkages with available cellulose hydroxyls. The results indicated a new way of preparing and stabilizing highly reactive C6-aldehydes on cellulose, and their exploitation in the development of new nanocellulose-based materials.