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THESIS - ROC CH ... - FINAL - resubmission.pdf - University of Guelph

THESIS - ROC CH ... - FINAL - resubmission.pdf - University of Guelph

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Absorbance<br />

SMF<br />

SNF<br />

Alkaline 2<br />

Acid<br />

Raw SF<br />

3800<br />

3400<br />

2920<br />

3000<br />

Figure 5.7: FTIR spectra <strong>of</strong> fibers obtained after specific steps <strong>of</strong> the extraction process.<br />

5.4.4 WAXD ANALYSIS<br />

2600<br />

2200<br />

Wavenumber cm -1<br />

Cellulose molecules have hydrogen bonds which are arranged in a patterned<br />

configuration resulting in crystalline-like properties. These crystalline regions are embedded<br />

amongst amorphous regions that are susceptible to chemical and mechanical treatments. With<br />

each successive treatment step, the relative crystalline portion <strong>of</strong> a given sample size should<br />

theoretically become higher. The estimated crystallinity <strong>of</strong> the fibers have been previously<br />

employed to indicate the efficacy <strong>of</strong> the cellulose extraction process towards nanometer ranges<br />

(Alemdar and Sain 2008; Chen et al. 2011; Wang and Sain 2007b). Figure 5.8 shows the<br />

WAXD results from the fiber extraction process through successive steps. It can be seen that all<br />

fiber samples except for the SNF have similar crystalline patterns exhibiting peaks around 2Ɵ =<br />

16° and 22.6°. These results concur with previously reported data for cellulosic materials where<br />

60<br />

1514<br />

1730<br />

1800<br />

1600<br />

1240<br />

1400<br />

1160<br />

1093<br />

1141<br />

1030<br />

896<br />

1000<br />

1010<br />

957<br />

600

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