Cellulose Nanocrystal Preparation via Rapid Hydrolysis of Wood Cellulose Fibers Using Recyclable Molten Ferric Chloride Hexahydrate

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are clean and sustainable materials that have drawn significant attention in academia and industry because of their unique physicochemical properties. However, realizing economical and environmentally friendly production of CNCs remains a challenge. In this study, we proposed an innovative strategy to fabricate CNCs, which involves the acid hydrolysis pretreatment of wood cellulose fibers using innocuous and recyclable ferric chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3·6H2O). During the molten FeCl3·6H2O treatment, the degree of polymerization (DP) of the cellulose fibers sharply decreased, along with the transformation of cellulose I to cellulose II crystallites. Molten FeCl3·6H2O quickly hydrolyzed cellulose fibers within 5 min at 80 °C, inducing a rapid decrease in the DP from 922 to 196, and the water-insoluble solid (WIS) retention reached 80.1%. CNCs were successfully produced from the mechanical disintegration of the WIS with a low energy input. Hence, the yield of CNCs is consistent with that of the WIS. Interestingly, the CNCs exhibited typical cellulose II crystallites, which were significantly different from those of the cellulose feedstock (cellulose I). Detailed characterization revealed that the CNCs had tunable number-averaged heights of 10.4–26.9 nm and high thermal stability (a maximal weight loss temperature of 327 °C). Most notably, FeCl3·6H2O was easily recycled from the hydrolysate after hydrolysis, with a high recovery of 94.0–94.5 wt %, using simple concentration and crystallization technologies. Thus, this study proposes a novel production technology for CNCs that is both economical and eco-friendly, providing new ideas for clean and large-scale production of CNCs.