Comparison of Lignocellulose Nanofibrils Extracted from Bamboo Fibrous and Parenchymal Tissues and the Properties of Resulting Films

Abstract

Bamboo is composed of thick-walled fibrous tissue and thin-walled parenchymal tissue. To compare the energy consumption of preparing lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNF) from these bamboo tissues, the crystallinity, sol. viscosity, morphology and mechanical properties of LCNF at different preparation stages were characterized in detail. It required at least nine homogenization cycles for dissociating the fibrous tissue, but only six cycles for the parenchymal tissue. The average diameter of LCNF isolated from fibrous and parenchymal tissues was 45.1 nm and 36.2 nm, respectively. The tensile strength of the LCNF film prepared from parenchymal tissue reached 142.46 MPa, whereas the film from fibrous tissue reached only 122.82 MPa. Additionally, a metal organic framework (MOF) was used to produce MOF-LCNF film with enhanced UV protection and antibacterial properties. The results indicated that the energy consumption for preparing LCNF from parenchymal tissue is significantly lower than that for preparing LCNF from fibrous tissue. This study offers a low-cost and eco-friendly method for preparing LCNF, promoting the precise utilization of different tissues from bamboo based on their unique characteristics.