Stabilization and strengthening effects of filamentous nanocellulose in the foam forming of quartz paper.

Compared with traditional papermaking, foam forming is a new papermaking technology that uses foam instead of water to disperse fibres, which can effectively solve the problem of poor evenness of ceramic paper, but the instability of foam itself affects the application of foam forming technology. Herein, a highly stable foaming agent for foam forming technology was prepared via physical reaction of lauryl dimethyl amine oxide (OB-2) with filamentous nanocellulose (cellulose nanofiber (CNF-C) and bacterial cellulose (BC)). Then, the quartz paper was prepared by foam forming technology. Firstly, hydrogen bond interactions between hydroxyl groups of the filamentous nanocellulose and hydrophilic moieties on OB-2 enabled the formation of a 3D nanonetwork layer on the surface of the bubble, which extended the half-life of the bubble and effectively prevented the bubble from bursting or coalescing. Then, the foam was extruded and cracked, and the filamentous nanocellulose was retained on the quartz fibres to prepare filamentous nanocellulose/quartz fibre paper by foam forming technology. The quartz paper exhibited excellent evenness and mechanical properties. In conclusion, the research of foam forming technology is of great significance to the application and development of special paper. [Display omitted] • Filamentous nanocellulose was first used in the foam forming technology. • The addition of filamentous nanocellulose extended the lifetime of the foam. • Fluorescent labeling revealed the adsorption of the nanocellulose on the bubble surface. • Filamentous nanocellulose enhanced the mechanical properties of the quartz paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]