scholarly journals Mechanical and Optical Properties of Polylactic Acid Films Containing Surfactant-Modified Cellulose Nanocrystals

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Luis Orellana ◽  
Derek Wichhart ◽  
Christopher L. Kitchens

The addition of surface-modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to polymeric matrices can lead to an enhancement of the mechanical and optical properties of host polymers. The use of surfactants can provide an easy and effective way to change the CNC functionality and to evaluate the effects of surface chemistry in the reinforcement mechanisms. In this work, CNCs were solution blended with polylactic acid (PLA) and melt extruded into films. The PLA toughness increased from 1.70 MJ/m3to 2.74 MJ/m3, a 61% increase, with the addition of 1% of decylamine-modified CNCs without a decrease of the tensile strength or modulus. In this work, we investigated the use of two surfactants, decylamine and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, to enhance CNC compatibility with the hydrophobic PLA matrix. Decylamine at 1.0 wt.% with respect to CNC loading was found to significantly enhance CNC compatibility and property enhancement. The low concentration of surfactant is notable, as other works typically use significantly higher loadings for CNC incorporation and property enhancement. At high CNC concentrations, mechanical properties decreased but the aligned assembly of the CNCs provided intricate colors to the films when observed between crossed polars. The alignment and nanoscale structure of CNCs within the films play an important role in the properties obtained.

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2699
Author(s):  
Ramón Díaz de León ◽  
Ediberto Guzmán ◽  
Ricardo López González ◽  
Alejandro Díaz Elizondo ◽  
Ilse Magaña ◽  
...  

The growing concern for environmental problems has motivated the use of materials obtained from bio-based resources such as cellulose nanocrystals which have a promising application acting as fillers or reinforcements of polymeric materials. In this context, in this article, plasma-induced polymerization is proposed as a strategy to modify nanocrystals at different plasma power intensities using ε-caprolactone and δ-decalactone to improve their compatibility with polymeric matrices. The characterization was carried out using techniques such as FTIR, TGA, XRD, XPS, and AFM, with which a successful functionalization was demonstrated without altering the inherent properties of the nanocrystals. The preparation of ABS nanocomposites was carried out with the modified nanoparticles and the evaluation of the mechanical properties indicates an increase in Young’s modulus and yield stress under certain concentrations of modified cellulose nanocrystals.


Cellulose ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Majdoub ◽  
Younes Essamlali ◽  
Othmane Amadine ◽  
Ikram Ganetri ◽  
Anass Hafnaoui ◽  
...  

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2174
Author(s):  
Diana Gregor-Svetec ◽  
Mirjam Leskovšek ◽  
Blaž Leskovar ◽  
Urška Stanković Elesini ◽  
Urška Vrabič-Brodnjak

Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most suitable materials for 3D printing. Blending with nanoparticles improves some of its properties, broadening its application possibilities. The article presents a study of composite PLA matrix filaments with added unmodified and lignin/polymerised lignin surface-modified nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). The influence of untreated and surface-modified NFC on morphological, mechanical, technological, infrared spectroscopic, and dynamic mechanical properties was evaluated for different groups of samples. As determined by the stereo and scanning electron microscopy, the unmodified and surface-modified NFCs with lignin and polymerised lignin were present in the form of plate-shaped agglomerates. The addition of NFC slightly reduced the filaments’ tensile strength, stretchability, and ability to absorb energy, while in contrast, the initial modulus slightly improved. By adding NFC to the PLA matrix, the bending storage modulus (E’) decreased slightly at lower temperatures, especially in the PLA samples with 3 wt% and 5 wt% NFC. When NFC was modified with lignin and polymerised lignin, an increase in E’ was noticed, especially in the glassy state.


Author(s):  
Peter Kayode Farayibi ◽  
Babatunde Olamide Omiyale

The acceptance and application of functional parts produced via additive manufacturing technologies is faced with challenges of poor surface finish, dimensional accuracy and mechanical properties among other which is mostly dependent on process parameters employed. In this study, the effect of infill density, layer thickness and extrusion temperature on mechanical properties of polylactic acid (PLA) part manufactured using fused deposition modelling process was investigated to obtain optimum process parameters to achieve the best properties. Solid cuboid bars were produced from which tensile, impact and hardness test specimens were obtained. A statistical approach based on Taguchi design of experiment was employed with process parameters varied and grey relational analysis coupled with principal component analysis was employed to obtain the unified optimum parameter. The single optimisation results showed that 50% infill density, 220°C extrusion temperature and 0.4 mm layer thickness resulted in best tensile strength; 30% density, 210°C temperature and 0.2 mm layer thickness is required to achieve the best impact strength, while 50% density, 215°C temperature and 0.3 mm thickness is required for highest hardness. The multi-response optimisation indicated that for the best of all the three properties to be achieved at once in a PLA built part, 50% infill density, 220°C extrusion temperature and 0.3 mm is required which yielded tensile strength of 30.02±2.15 MPa, impact strength 4.20±0.12 J and hardness of 76.80±0.38 BHN.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-311
Author(s):  
Ali Tajdari ◽  
Amir Babaei ◽  
Alireza Goudarzi ◽  
Razie Partovi

In this research, first, ZnO nanorods were synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized in terms of morphological and structural properties by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Subsequently, polylactic acid/ZnO, polylactic acid/TiO2, and polylactic acid/ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites with different percentages of nanoparticles and two different types of ZnO morphologies were prepared and their microstructural, optical, mechanical, hydrolytic degradation, and antibacterial properties were investigated. Field emission scanning electron microscopy results of polylactic acid/ZnO and polylactic acid/TiO2 samples showed a proper dispersion and nanoparticle distribution for low percentages (up to 5 wt%) and increased aggregation for the higher percentages. Besides, a large increase in the aggregation tendency was observed for combined nanoparticles (polylactic acid/ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites). Results of the tensile test, the UV–Vis absorption tests, and the hydrolytic degradation tests of the samples showed an enhanced mechanical (approximately 55% increase in the presence of 3–5 wt% of nanoparticles) and light absorption and degradation (approximately 85% increase in the presence of 3–10 wt% of nanoparticles) for the polylactic acid by incorporating nanoparticles. It was also observed that, in addition to the quality of dispersion and distribution of nanoparticles in the polymeric matrix, the type of morphology of nanoparticles can contribute to the improvement of these properties. The cylindrical morphology of ZnO played a greater role on improving the polylactic acid mechanical properties compared to the spherical ZnO morphology (approximately 20%). On the contrary, the increased polylactic acid optical properties and degradation with ZnO spherical morphology were more pronounced (approximately 60%). Interestingly, when both ZnO and TiO2 were added, a synergistic effect in the case of UV-shielding and degradation rate and alternatively, a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties were detected. (The polylactic acid optical properties increased by about 17% and its degradation more than doubled.) Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of polylactic acid was investigated against the two Gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli by incorporating nanoparticles. The results indicated that as the nanoparticle percentage increases, the antibacterial activity steadily increases.


Cellulose ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 4301-4312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlong Zhang ◽  
Mei-Chun Li ◽  
Xiuqiang Zhang ◽  
Suxia Ren ◽  
Lili Dong ◽  
...  

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