Synthesis of cellulose–calcium silicate nanocomposites in ethanol/water mixed solvents and their characterization

Cellulose–calcium silicate nanocomposites with calcium silicate nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed in the cellulose matrix have been successfully synthesized using cellulose solution, Ca(NO3)2·4H2O and Na2SiO3·9H2O in ethanol/water mixed solvents at room temperature for 24 h. The cellulose solution was previously prepared by the dissolution of cellulose in a solvent system of N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc)/lithium chloride (LiCl). The feeding order had an influence on the morphology of the cellulose–calcium silicate nanocomposites and the size of the calcium silicate particles. The cellulose in nanocomposites showed cellulose type II crystalline structure. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).