Heat treatment’s effect on the wettability of cellulose membranes via a top-down approach

Cellulose is a potential alternative to petroleum-derived polymers, and cellulose membranes are used in many applications such as sensors, flexible materials, and functional membranes. Most bottom-up methods are energy-, chemical-, and time-intensive compared to top-down methods for preparing cellulose membranes. Additionally, most methods to improve the hydrophobicity of cellulose membranes to increase their lifetime are complex and require large amounts of organic solvents. To balance sustainability, degradability, and service life from a whole life cycle perspective, which is the biggest challenge for the industrialization of cellulose membranes, a top-down approach was used here to prepare cellulose membranes using camphor pine, walnut, and loofah materials. The effect of low temperature heat treatment on the prepared membranes’ wettability and water stability were investigated. The results showed that the water stability of loofah cellulose membrane was influenced by both surface and internal wettability due to the non-homogeneous structure. The heat treatment temperature of 200 °C for loofah cellulose membrane, 150 °C for camphor pine cellulose membrane, and 225 °C for walnut cellulose membrane was more effective.