Preliminary study on the strength enhancement of Klucel E with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) for the conservation of wooden artifacts

Four concentrations of Klucel E and cellulose nanofiber (CNF) nanocomposite were prepared by adding 10, 20, 30, and 50 ml of 2% (wt./v) CNF to 3% (wt./v) of Klucel E to obtain a 100 ml. final volume of the composite. The composites were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The addition of CNF to Klucel E improved the mechanical properties of the prepared composites; namely the composite which contains 50% CNF showed an improvement in tensile strength by 102% compared to pure Klucel E. Additionally, Young's modulus, and hardness increased dramatically with the increase of CNF within the composite. To further evaluate the nanocomposites, CNF 30% and CNF 50%, were used to treat aged wood specimens. The compression strength of the untreated and treated specimen was measured, where the sample treated with Klucel E/30% CNF composite showed the highest compression strength value with an improvement of 14.5% compared to the untreated wood sample.