All-cellulose Composites Based on Cotton Textile Woven Preforms

All-cellulose cotton composites were successfully prepared from cotton textile woven pre-forms using a fiber surface dissolution method in lithium chloride dissolved in N,N-dimethylacetamide (LiCl/DMAc). Two different fiber surface pretreatments were used: (i) alkaline scouring with bleaching and (ii) enzymatic scouring with acid and alkaline pectinases followed with bleaching. The mechanical, structural and thermal properties of the all-cellulose cotton based composites were characterized through tensile tests, FTIR spectroscopy, C-NMR and TGA/DTA. Using scanning electron microscopy, the composite morphology was studied. The composites based on enzymatic scoured and subsequently bleached woven pre-forms have shown the best mechanical properties. The main advantages of the obtained all-cellulose composites are the facts that they are at the same time fully bio based, easily recyclable and biodegradable.