PREPARATION AND APPLICATION AS THE FILLER FOR ELASTOMERS OF FLAKE-SHAPED CELLULOSE PARTICLES AND NANOFIBERS

Fibrous cellulose made from wood pulp was mechanically milled into flake-shaped cellulose particles(FS-CPs) using a planetary ball mill with additives under several conditions. The average particle diameter of the FS-CPs was ca. 15μm, and the particles were available in a variety of thicknesses by changing the kind of the additives used in the milling process. FS-CPs-reinforced olefinic thermoplastic elastomer composites were prepared under melt mixing and passed through an open roll to orient the particles. The tensile modulus of the composites with a compatibilizer increased with increasing the particle content. The damping properties of the composites improved, compared to the neat elastomer. On the other hand, the fibrous cellulose was suspended in water, followed by wet disk-milled to prepare cellulose nanofibers(CNFs). The wet ground products showed nanoscopic fine morphology. CNFs-reinforced natural rubber(NR) composites were prepared by mixing the water suspension of CNFs with NR latex using a homogenizer. Then, it was dried in an oven and mixed again with vulcanizing ingredients of rubber using an open roll. The tensile properties of the composites improved remarkably by the addition of small amount of CNFs.