*3.1.3 X-ray diffraction (XRD)*

**Figure 5** shows the X-ray diffractograms of HEC, BEC, and modified BEC (BEC-ED) in the range of 2θ = 00° to 37°. According to the diffractograms of the two polymers (HEC and BEC), the benzylation of HEC has practically no effect on the crystal behavior of HEC, except for a small shift of the maximum diffraction

*New Ethylenediamine Crosslinked 2D-Cellulose Adsorbent for Nanoencapsulation Removal… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98709*

**Figure 3.** *SEM images and EDS spectra of HEC, BEC and BEC-ED.*

peak towards the low values of HEC, 2θ of 21.25° for HEC and 20.80° for BEC, but the predominance of the amorphous character is always considered. Though, the small decrease in 2θ, at this region, can be explained by the increase in the supramolecular distance, between macromolecular chains, resulting from the insertion of benzyl entities. On the other hand, the diffractogram of the modified BEC sample (BEC-ED) showed, comparing to BEC, very remarkable and significant changes. Indeed, the crosslinking reaction of BEC generated a new crystalline order characterized by the apparition of a new peak towards 2θ = 12.50°, which corresponds to a lattice distance of 07.07 Å (**Figure 5**). The presence of a large domain with a

**Figure 4.** *Supramolecular lamellar structure of BEC-ED.*

**Figure 5.** *Supramolecular structure of BEC-ED and the XRD diffractograms of HEC, BEC and BEC-ED.*

maximum at 2θ = 22.7°, on the BEC-ED diffractogram, reveals its amorphous character. Therefore, a semi-crystalline appearance of BEC-ED can be suggested.
