Effects of Plasticiser on the Morphology and Swelling Properties of Cellulose-based Hydrogels Derived from Wastepaper

Cellulose was successfully extracted from wastepaper with a pre-treatment using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The cellulose was then used to fabricate two types of hydrogels: cellulose/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and cellulose/CMC/glycerol. Epichlorohydrin, an ECH solution was used as a cross-linker for the fabrication of both types of hydrogels. NaOH/urea/ultrapure water (NU) solutions were used to dissolve all the materials needed for the formation of hydrogels. The attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) showed the presence of hydroxyl group (O-H), hydrocarbon group (C-H) and carbonyl group (C=O) stretching. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed different porosities for both types of hydrogels, while the equilibrium swelling, swellingeq of cellulose/CMC/ PVA hydrogels were better compared to the cellulose/CMC/glycerol hydrogels. The highest swellingeq was found for the cellulose/CMC/PVA hydrogel (3/3/4 ratio), CCP334 with 6.33 g/g, while the lowest swellingeq (g/g) was obtained from the cellulose/CMC/ glycerol hydrogel (3/2/5 ratio), CCG325 with 1.49 g/g.