Preparation and characterization of alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) modified cellulose composite membrane

Cellulose was dissolved in 8 wt.% lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide. Under the homogeneous conditions, alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was added to react with the dissolved cellulose. The mixed solvent was utilized to form composite membrane by phase transfer technique. The supermolecular structure, morphology, thermal and physical properties of the membrane were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscope (SEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), etc. The results showed that AKD reacted with cellulose under the homogeneous conditions. Moreover, the water absorption and water flux of composite membrane noticeably decreased compared with unmodified cellulose membrane.