Evaluating the Effects of Chitosan-Nanocellulose Layer-by-Layer Nanocoating on the Cotton Linter Fibers and the Paper Properties

Layer-by-Layer self-assembly technique is a novel method in nanothechnology for the modification of the surface properties of solid materials. This paper compares the influence of modification of cotton linter fibers external surfaces via alternate adsorption of positive and negative (chitosan/Cellulose nanofibers) polyelectrolytes. The adsorption of materials on cellulose fibers was analyzed via polyelectrolyte titration. The bonding ability of fibers was improved by polyelectrolyte multilayering (PEM) on the fiber surface visualized using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The results showed that apparent density and also bonding ability were significantly improved at second layer، whereas the apparent density and tensile index of the sheet increased by 10% and 76% respectively compared to those of untreated fibers at second layer.