This method describes a rapid method of spraying to produce nanocellulose films

1. Spray coating – a rapid method for preparation of free-standing nanocellulose film
Abstract
A rapid preparation technique to prepare free standing nanocellulose films wasdeveloped using
a bench scale spray coating system. Nanocellulose suspension with concentration ranging from 1 to 2
wt% wassprayedonto a stainless steelplate, which is moving on a conveyor ata velocity of 0.32 cm/sec.
Afterthe suspension wasair dried under restraint, the basis weight of produced nanocellulose films was
found to vary between 50 and 200 g/m2
. Processing time taken to prepare films was approximately 1.0
min, which is much less than processing times reported in the previous literature. Films made by spray
coating had similar uniformity, but 15% higher thickness than those made by vacuum filtration.
Additionally, the spray coated nanocellulose film has ultra-high smoothness on the side exposed to the
metal surface with a RMS roughness of 81.1 nm for 10µm x10µm inspection area. The significant
reduction in preparation time suggests that this spray coating technique can be utilized as an alternative
to vacuum filtration for preparing laboratory nanocellulose sheetsasa platform for further investigation.