RT Journal Article
T1 Exploring Cellulose Triacetate Nanofibers as Sustainable Structuring Agent for Castor Oil: Formulation Design and Rheological Insights
A1 Martín Alfonso, Manuel Antonio
A1 Rubio Valle, José Fernando
A1 Estrada Villegas, Gethzemani Mayeli
A1 Sánchez Domínguez, Margarita
A1 Martín Alfonso, José Enrique
AB Developing gelled environmentally friendly dispersions in oil media is a hot topic formany applications. This study aimed to investigate the production of electrospun cellulose triacetate(CTA) nanofibers and to explore their potential application as a thickening agent for castor oil.The key factors in the electrospinning process, including the intrinsic properties of CTA solutionsin methylene chloride (DCM)/ethanol (EtOH), such us the shear viscosity, surface tension, andelectrical conductivity, were systematically studied. The impact of the CTA fiber concentration andthe ratio of DCM/EtOH on the rheological properties of the gel-like dispersions in castor oil wasthen investigated. It was found that dispersions with a non-Newtonian response and above a criticalconcentration (5 wt.%), corresponding to approximately 2–2.5 times the entanglement concentration,are required to produce defect-free nanofibers. The average fiber diameter increased with CTAconcentration. Further, the morphology and texture of the electrospun nanofibers are influenced bythe ratio of solvents used. The rheological properties of dispersions are strongly influenced by theconcentration and surface properties of nanofibers, such as their smooth or porous textures, whichallow their modulation. Compared to other commonly used thickeners, such as synthetic polymersand metal soaps, CTA electrospun nanofibers have a much higher oil structuring capacity. This workillustrated the potential of using CTA nanofibers as the foundation for fabricating gel-like dispersionsin oil media, and thus exerting hierarchical control of rheological properties through the use of ananoscale fabrication technique.
PB MDPI
SN 2310-2861 (electrónico)
YR 2024
FD 2024-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23467
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/23467
LA eng
NO Martín-Alfonso, M. A., Rubio-Valle, J. F., Estrada-Villegas, G. M., Sánchez-Domínguez, M., & Martín-Alfonso, J. E. (2024). Exploring Cellulose Triacetate Nanofibers as Sustainable Structuring Agent for Castor Oil: Formulation Design and Rheological Insights. In Gels (Vol. 10, Issue 4, p. 221). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040221
NO This research was supported by the FEDER European Programme and Junta de Andalucía (grant number: PY20_00751), and by EPIT2020, Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia (Comisión Europea; Universidad de Huelva; Junta Andalucía), Project UHU202029.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 13 jun 2026