Study on Physicochemical Properties and Potential Applications of Chemically Treated Luffa Sponge Fibers

ABSTRACT

To explore and expand the application of luffa sponge (LS) fiber, three methods were used to chemically modify the LS fibers. The nanoindentation (NI) results show that the LS fibers exhibit a high elastic modulus (12.4 GPa) and hardness (0.7 GPa). Upon treating the fibers with 5%NaOH-5%H₂O₂, the NI hardness of the fibers increases by 14.3%. However, when 10%NaOH-20%CH₃COOH (method B) is used, the hardness of the cell walls decreases by 28.6%. In this case, the removal of amorphous substances from the LS fibers and the swelling reaction of the LS cellulose plays a significant role. Three chemical treatments can partially remove the hemicellulose in the LS fiber. 18%NaOH-1.6%CO(NH₂)₂ (method C) modifies the crystalline structure of the cellulose in the LS fibers. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results show that the LS fibers are rich in hexadecanoic acid (14.3%), as well as in substances, such as squalene, oleic acid, and behenic alcohol, which exhibit a high antibiofilm activity. Furthermore, method B increases the total relative content of squalene and squalane in the LS extract by 49.4%; while method C treatment allows LS fibers have the potential to be used to develop phase-change energy storage materials and anti-photoaging discoloration materials.

摘要

为了探索和扩大丝瓜海绵纤维的应用, 采用三种方法对丝瓜海绵纤维进行化学改性. 纳米压痕 (NI) 结果表明, LS纤维具有较高的弹性模量 (12.4GPa) 和硬度 (0.7GPa). 用5%NaOH-5%H₂O₂处理后, 纤维的NI硬度提高了14.3%. 然而, 当使用10%NaOH-20%CH₃COOH (方法B) 时, 细胞壁的硬度降低了28.6%. 在这种情况下, LS纤维中无定形物质的去除和LS纤维素的溶胀反应起着重要作用. 三种化学处理可以部分去除LS纤维中的半纤维素. 18%NaOH-1.6%CO (NH₂) ₂ (方法C) 改变了LS纤维中纤维素的结晶结构. 气相色谱-质谱分析结果表明, LS纤维富含棕榈酸 (14.3%), 以及角鲨烯、油酸和1-二十二醇等物质, 这些物质具有很高的抗菌膜活性. 此外, 方法B使LS提取物中角鲨烯和角鲨烷的总相对含量增加49.4%; 而方法C处理使LS纤维具有开发相变储能材料和抗光老化变色材料的潜力.

KEYWORDS:

• Luffa sponge fiber
• chemical treatment
• ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance
• gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
• chemical composition
• nanoindentation

关键词:

• 丝瓜海绵纤维
• 化学处理
• ¹³C核磁共振
• 气相色谱-质谱
• 化学成分
• 纳米压痕

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2022.2089433

Correction Statement

^# These authors contributed equally to the work.

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [31800477]; Anhui Provincial natural Science Foundation [1808085MC69]; Anhui Agricultural University Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate [2021yjs-11]; China University Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship training Program [202010364089,202110364094].