Projects per year
Abstract
Observing microfibril bundles in wood by smallangle neutron scattering
Cellulose is present in the cell walls of wood in the form of partially crystalline microfibrils, with a thickness of 2–3 nm. Lateral aggregation of the microfibrils into bundles, also termed macrofibrils, in the secondary cell walls has been reported by various methods (Sarkar et al. 2009; Adobes-Vidal et al. 2020), including atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy and electron tomography. The lateral size of microfibril bundles is usually in the range 15–20 nm, with some hemicelluloses and water ncluded within the bundle. However, none of the methods used so far has been able to observe these structures in their truly native state, as part of an intact cell wall structure and hydrated by liquid water.
Neutron and X-ray scattering are excellent tools for non-invasive characterization of the hierarchical structure of wood and other cellulosic materials (Rongpipi et al. 2019). With these methods, the properties of cellulose crystals and the packing of microfibrils can be analysed under various external conditions such as different humidity levels (Penttilä et al. 2020a). In the current work, we utilized small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) together with contrast variation by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to assign a specific contribution in the SANS intensities of native wood to the outer dimensions of cellulose microfibril bundles (Penttilä et al. 2020b). This allowed us to detect the presence of microfibril bundles in the cell walls of different types of wood and to determine their diameter also in wood samples without PEG.
Cellulose is present in the cell walls of wood in the form of partially crystalline microfibrils, with a thickness of 2–3 nm. Lateral aggregation of the microfibrils into bundles, also termed macrofibrils, in the secondary cell walls has been reported by various methods (Sarkar et al. 2009; Adobes-Vidal et al. 2020), including atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy and electron tomography. The lateral size of microfibril bundles is usually in the range 15–20 nm, with some hemicelluloses and water ncluded within the bundle. However, none of the methods used so far has been able to observe these structures in their truly native state, as part of an intact cell wall structure and hydrated by liquid water.
Neutron and X-ray scattering are excellent tools for non-invasive characterization of the hierarchical structure of wood and other cellulosic materials (Rongpipi et al. 2019). With these methods, the properties of cellulose crystals and the packing of microfibrils can be analysed under various external conditions such as different humidity levels (Penttilä et al. 2020a). In the current work, we utilized small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) together with contrast variation by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to assign a specific contribution in the SANS intensities of native wood to the outer dimensions of cellulose microfibril bundles (Penttilä et al. 2020b). This allowed us to detect the presence of microfibril bundles in the cell walls of different types of wood and to determine their diameter also in wood samples without PEG.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2020 |
MoE publication type | Not Eligible |
Event | Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering - Virtual, Online, Finland Duration: 1 Dec 2020 → 2 Dec 2020 |
Conference
Conference | Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering |
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Abbreviated title | WSE |
Country/Territory | Finland |
City | Virtual, Online |
Period | 01/12/2020 → 02/12/2020 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Observing microfibril bundles in wood by small-angle neutron scattering'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Datasets
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Confocal Raman spectroscopy data from native and polyethylene glycol-containing wood
Altgen, M. (Creator), Penttilä, P. (Creator), Awais, M. (Creator) & Rautkari, L. (Creator), Zenodo, 16 Oct 2020
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4094665, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4094665
Dataset
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Investigating the pore accessibility in wood using SANS
Penttilä, P. (Creator) & Schweins, R. (Creator), Institut Laue-Langevin, 15 Oct 2020
DOI: 10.5291/ill-data.inter-378
Dataset
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Understanding the moisture behaviour of wood in nanoscale
Penttilä, P. (Principal investigator)
01/09/2018 → 31/08/2021
Project: Academy of Finland: Other research funding
Equipment
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Bioeconomy Research Infrastructure
Seppälä, J. (Manager)
School of Chemical EngineeringFacility/equipment: Facility
Research output
- 1 Article
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Bundling of cellulose microfibrils in native and polyethylene glycol-containing wood cell walls revealed by small-angle neutron scattering
Penttilä, P. A., Altgen, M., Awais, M., Österberg, M., Rautkari, L. & Schweins, R., 30 Nov 2020, In: Scientific Reports. 10, 1, 9 p., 20844.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile23 Citations (Scopus)119 Downloads (Pure)