Characterization of Aldehyde Crosslinked Kenaf Regenerated Cellulose Film

Regenerated cellulose film with better mechanical properties was successfully produced by introducing aldehyde crosslinker during the regeneration process. The cellulose source material was derived from kenaf core powder and dissolved in LiOH/urea solvent at −13 °C to form a cellulose solution. The cellulose solution was cast and coagulated in a crosslinker bath at different percentages of glutaraldehyde (GA) and glyoxal (GX) to form a regenerated cellulose film. According to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra, the hydroxyl group of the cellulose was reduced, reducing the percentage of swelling as the percentage of crosslinker was increased. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the crystallinity index of the crosslinked film was decreased. The pore size of the films decreased as the percentage of crosslinker was increased, resulting in decreased film transparency. The pore volume and percentage of swelling in water of the films also increased with decreases in the pore size as the percentage of crosslinker was increased. The tensile strengths of the GA- and GX-crosslinked films increased by 20 and 15% with the addition of 20% of each crosslinker, respectively