Abstract
Self-reinforced polylactic acid (SR PLA) composites incorporating cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) were produced by coating orientated PLA fibres with a polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)–CNW mixture as a binder prior to hot compaction at 95 °C. PLA fibres were produced with an average diameter of 11 (±0.9) μm via a melt-drawing process at 180 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that the CNWs imparted roughness to the PLA fibre surface. Cross-sectional examination of the SR PLA composites after hot-pressing confirmed that the PLA fibres had maintained their morphology. Incorporation of 8 wt% CNWs within the SR-PLA composites revealed an increase in their flexural strength (48%) and modulus (39%) compared to the control composite (flexural strength ∼82 MPa and modulus ∼3.9 GPa). In addition, whilst the control SR-PLA composite revealed quite brittle characteristics, the addition of CNWs and PVAc gave the self-reinforced composite a more ductile behaviour.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 193-200 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Reactive and Functional Polymers |
| Volume | 85 |
| Early online date | 28 Sept 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2014 |
Funding
KMZH acknowledges the University of Nottingham for a Dean of Engineering scholarship whilst WT thanks EPSRC for financial support under grant EP/J015687/1 .
Keywords
- cellulose nanowhiskers
- flexural properties
- PLA fibre
- self-reinforced composite
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