Unraveling the Rheology of Nanocellulose Aqueous Suspensions: A Comprehensive Study on Biomass-Derived Nanofibrillated Cellulose

The rheological properties of nanocellulose aqueous suspensions play a critical role in the development of nano-cellulose-based bulk materials. High-crystalline, high-aspect ratio, and slender nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) were extracted from four biomass resources. The cellulose nanofibrils and nanofibril bundles formed inter-connected networks in the NFC aqueous suspensions. The storage moduli of the suspensions with different concentrations were higher than their corresponding loss moduli. As the concentration increased, the storage and loss modulus of NFC dispersion increased. When the shear rate increased to a certain value, there were differences in the changing trend of the rheological behavior of NFC aqueous suspensions derived from different biomass resources and the suspensions with different solid concentrations. NFC dispersion’s storage and loss modulus increased when the temperature rose to nearly 80°C. We hope this study can deepen the understanding of the rheological properties of NFC colloids derived from different biomass resources.