1. Facile dispersion strategy to prepare polylactic acid/reed straw nanofiber composites with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties.
- Author
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Wang, Hongkun, Liu, Xuran, Liu, Jinfeng, Wu, Min, and Huang, Yong
- Subjects
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POLYLACTIC acid , *THERMAL properties , *STRAW , *DISPERSION (Chemistry) , *EXTRUSION process , *NUCLEATING agents - Abstract
The challenge of dispersing nanocellulose in hydrophobic polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) still obstacles the further application of cellulose nanocomposites. An environment-friendly and facile wet-shearing pretreatment strategy without using any organic solvent was developed in this work. Silane modified lignocellulose nanofiber (SLCNF) was pre-dispersed into PLA by wet-shearing pretreatment, followed by extrusion process and the SLCNF could be dispersed extremely well in PLA matrices. SLCNF formed a crosslinked network and had an improved compatibility, which improved the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA composites. The tensile strength, elongation at break and thermal deformation temperature of the composites were increased by 12.6 %, 32.4 % and 9.1 °C, respectively. Moreover, SLCNF promoted the crystallization of PLA as a heterogeneous nucleating agent and the crystallinity was increased by about 40 %. This study provides an effective way to disperse nanocellulose in polymer matrix with high efficiency to enhance polymer-based composites. • Wet-shearing pretreatment combined with oven drying is an effective method for dispersing nanocellulose in polymer matrix. • Silane modified reed straw nanofibers formed a cross-linked network and have an improved compatibility with PLA matrix. • Enhanced mechanical, thermal and crystallization properties of polylactic acid/reed straw nanofiber blends [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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