In Situ Cellulose Nanocrystal-Reinforced Glycerol-Based Biopolyester for Enhancing Poly(lactic acid) Biocomposites

Brown, Elizabeth; Abdelwahab, Mohamed; Valerio, Oscar; Misra, Manjusri; Mohanty, Amar K.

Abstract

Biobased, elastomeric polymer poly(glycerol succinate-co-maleate) (PGSMA) was produced using a "green" synthesis with added cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to create a novel PGSMA-CNC material. PGSMA-CNC was synthesized with the aim of developing a new strategy for successfully dispersing CNCs within a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix for optimal reinforcement of tensile strength and modulus while having the added benefit of the proven toughness enhancements of PLA/PGSMA blends. Optical microscopy and fractionation in tetrahydrofuran showed that CNCs agglomerated during PGSMA-CNC synthesis and remained in agglomerates during PLA/PGSMA-CNC reactive blending. Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analyses also showed that PGSMA-CNC inhibited the formation of PGSMA crosslinks and PLA-g-PGSMA during reactive blending. These two effects resulted in loss of impact strength and only a 4% increase in tensile modulus over PLA/PGSMA at the highest CNC content. Further work in preventing CNC aggregation could help improve mechanical properties of the final blend.

Más información

Título según WOS: ID WOS:000430200300026 Not found in local WOS DB
Título de la Revista: ACS OMEGA
Volumen: 3
Número: 4
Editorial: AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Fecha de publicación: 2018
Página de inicio: 3857
Página final: 3867
DOI:

10.1021/acsomega.8b00056

Notas: ISI