Improving the Structure of Cellulose Gel Beads with Salt
Author Information
Author(s): Garnett Matthew T., Seyed Esfahani Seyed Armin, Yingst Andrew P., May Luke T., Alexander Symone L. M.
Primary Institution: Auburn University
Hypothesis
The addition of salt to cellulose solutions prior to coagulation will improve the structural uniformity and reduce variability in mechanical properties of cellulose microgels.
Conclusion
Adding salt to cellulose solutions effectively improves structural uniformity and drastically reduces variability in mechanical properties compared to neat cellulose solutions and thermo-gel solutions.
Supporting Evidence
- Adding 1 wt% NaCl in the salt-gel solution effectively screens the aggregation effects of the salt produced by the neutralization reaction.
- Salt-gel beads displayed significantly lower variability in Young’s moduli compared to neat cellulose and thermo-gel beads.
- Three-dimensional visualization showed that salt-gel beads had a highly uniform internal structure.
Takeaway
This study shows that adding salt to a mixture can help make tiny jelly-like beads from cellulose more uniform and strong, which is important for using them in medicine.
Methodology
Cellulose microgel beads were fabricated using a dropping technique, with varying concentrations of NaCl added to the cellulose solution before coagulation in an acid bath.
Limitations
The study primarily focuses on the effects of salt concentration and does not explore other potential factors affecting bead formation.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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