Silylation of cellulose using a cyclotetrasiloxane and its polymerization

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is a natural material that can be extracted from the plant cell wall. It has attractive properties such as high strength, excellent stiffness, and high surface area, but its hydroxylated surface is often pointed out as a limiting factor for its use in commercial applications. MFC cannot be ideally dispersed in non-polar solvents, monomers, or polymers since the hydrophilic surface of MFC is incompatible with hydrophobic environments. The complete dissolution of cellulose in a solvent system is complex. A cyclotetrasiloxane was synthesized via hydrosilylation of 1, 3, 5, 7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄H) with Trimethoxyvinylsilane (TMVS). The structure of tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane modified with Trimethoxyvinylsilane (D₄H– TMVS) was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR). This cyclotetrasiloxane bound to cellulose and then polymerized it by ring-opening polymerizations (ROPs) with an initiator in a second step. Polysiloxanes are useful for conferring chain flexibility, biointegrity, radiation resistance, thermal stability, and hydrophobicity. With an appropriate degree of silylation, cellulose will disperse efficiently in organic solvents such as acetone, chloroform, and tetrahydrofuran. As a result, the possibility of using cellulose is increased in a number of different disciplines, such as antioxidants, bio-composites, biomedicine, carbon fiber, photo-catalysts and photovoltaics, the adsorption of heavy metal ions, and wood adhesives.