Effects of Surface Chemistry and Counterion Selection on the Thermal Behavior of Carboxylated Cellulose Nanocrystals

Researchers have sought to improve the thermal performance of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) via new production routes, often by incorporating carboxylate groups on CNC surfaces. The CNC properties responsible for increased thermal stability, however, are not well understood. This study investigated carboxylated CNCs with varying physicochemical properties and benchmarked their thermal performance with two counterions (H+ and Na+) against …