Regenerating “Clickable” Thiolated Cellulose Nanofibrils into Man-Made Cellulosic Composite Fibers: Effect on Properties and Spinnability

Development of all-cellulose composites is a promising approach to fabricate functional textiles. Our research presents a proof of concept to incorporate modified cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) into a regenerated cellulose textile fibers. In this work, CNFs are modified with a thiol-containing silane coupling agent, available to undergo a “click” reaction with additives possessing a terminal alkene or alkyne. Resulting mercapto-CNF (mCNF) was dissolved in ionic liquid along with the dissolving pulp to attain a controlled concentration of the functional groups. Cellulose-mCNF fibers were spun using Ioncell® technology, resulting in fiber that contains a high percentage of regenerated CNF. During this process, the incorporated silane coupling agents did not withstand the dissolution and were not found in the resultant fiber, likely being discarded with the spin bath.