Chemical Structure and Mechanical Properties of Wood Cell Walls Treated with Acid and Alkali Solution

Abstract

The mechanical properties of individual fibers are related to the production and performance of papers and fiberboards. This paper examines the behavior of the microstructure constituents of wood subjected to acid and alkali treatments. The chemical structure and mechanical properties of wood cell walls with different acid or alkali treatments was analyzed. The results show that, compared with acid treatment, the crystal size and crystallinity index of cellulose increased after alkali treatment, resulting in an increase in the cell wall elastic modulus. The mechanical properties of the wood cell wall S2 region were higher than those of the compound middle lamella (CML) region. There was a topochemical effect between the CML and the S2 region in acid and alkali-treated samples, which provided a major threshold that facilitates the production/separation of wood fibers for better strength fiber properties.