It is highly desirable to replace gas barriers of aluminium and non-renewable plastics in order to lower our ecological footprint. One interesting candidate is films made from cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), which after cross-linking have been shown to have competitive barrier properties even at a high relative humidity (80% RH). This work presents studies at even higher relative humidity (90% RH) and microscopic studies of what happens when unmodified and cross-linked CNF films are exposed to water. The microscopy techniques used were scanning electron microscopy of dry and wet cross-sections of films after freeze-drying and atomic force microscopy in the dry state and in the wet state shortly after wetting. Both techniques clearly revealed that the cross-links prevent the CNFs from separating from each other and hence prevent the films from swelling, so that the free-volume-sensitive gas permeability is maintained at a low level.

Improved barrier films of cross-linked cellulose nanofibrils: a microscopy study
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Per A. Larsson, PhD *PhD PhD
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, , Torbjörn Pettersson, Per A. Larsson
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Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
BiMaC Innovation, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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, , and Lars Wågberg, Torbjörn Pettersson
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Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
BiMaC Innovation, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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, Lars Wågberg
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Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
BiMaC Innovation, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Wallenberg Wood Science Center, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract
Keywords: cellulose ; diffusion barrier ; nanostructure
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