Issue 21, 2016

Yielding and flow of cellulose microfibril dispersions in the presence of a charged polymer

Abstract

The shear flow of microfibrillated cellulose dispersions is still not wholly understood as a consequence of their multi-length-scale heterogeneity. We added carboxymethyl cellulose, a charged polymer, that makes cellulose microfibril dispersions more homogeneous at the submicron and macro scales. We then compared the yielding and flow behavior of these dispersions to that of typical thixotropic yield-stress fluids. Despite the apparent homogeneity of the dispersions, their flow velocity profiles in cone–plate geometry, as measured by rheo-MRI velocimetry, differ strongly from those observed for typical thixotropic model systems: the viscosity across the gap is not uniform, despite a flat stress field across the gap. We describe these velocity profiles with a nonlocal model, and attribute the non-locality to persistent micron-scale structural heterogeneity.

Graphical abstract: Yielding and flow of cellulose microfibril dispersions in the presence of a charged polymer

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Nov 2015
Accepted
17 Apr 2016
First published
18 Apr 2016

Soft Matter, 2016,12, 4739-4744

Author version available

Yielding and flow of cellulose microfibril dispersions in the presence of a charged polymer

D. W. de Kort, S. J. Veen, H. Van As, D. Bonn, K. P. Velikov and J. P. M. van Duynhoven, Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 4739 DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02869H

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