Browsing by Author "Attallah, Nashwa"

The demand for natural and man-made cellulosic-based materials is in an increase continually due to the world population growth. Cotton production does not meet this demand. Consequently, a rational strategy to close this “cellulosic products gap” is to increase the production of man-made cellulosic products, following the principles of green chemistry. Cellulose is an essential skeletal component in plants and is a nearly limitless polymeric raw material with intriguing structure and properties. Due to its inherent insolubility, this crystalline and stiff homopolymer has not yet reached its full application potential. The diversity of regenerated cellulose materials formed through physical dissolution and regeneration has been remarkable in recent decades, showing tremendous possibilities in the fields of textiles, packaging, biomedicine, water treatment, and optical/electrical devices. Since most of the agents used in the physical dissolution and regeneration process can be recycled and reused and the nature of cellulose is preserved, no chemical reactions take place. This method is therefore environmentally friendly and holds the promise of bringing about a new Green Revolution in the widespread use of cellulose-like natural resources. Given the fabrication of new materials using an ecologically benign technology and the replacement of petroleum-based materials, the effects and advantages of such physical processes on society are very fascinating. This thesis includes the dissolution of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), which represents a highly crystalline and pure cellulose model substrate by 7-methyl-1,5,7- triazabicyclo [4.4.0] dec-5-enium acetate [mTBDH] [OAc] superbase ionic liquid (SIL), which has an extreme dissolution power for cellulose. Cellulose can be first dissolved in IL at 80 ◦C and then regenerated, upon cooling, with the addition of n-propanol as an antisolvent for cellulose, leading to a phase separation. The second part of the thesis is the regeneration of cellulose in the form of films from cellulose-IL solutions. [mTBDH] [OAc] IL was used for the first time as a plasticizer for the preparation of transparent cellulose films.