Abstract

A biobased approach was taken to endow microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with surface hydrophobicity using sunflower oil biodiesel (sunflower oil fatty acid ethyl esters, SFEEs) and thereby improve the compatibility with a hydrophobic polypropylene (PP) matrix. This environmentally friendly green chemistry approach introduces a monomolecular long-chain fatty acid layer on the MCC surface, making the surface hydrophobic. However, as per the X-ray Diffraction results, this surface modification process had no effect on the crystal structure of MCC. The inclusion of surface-modified MCC in the PP matrix significantly improves the thermomechanical properties of the composite. The tensile, impact and hardness properties of the surface-treated fiber reinforcements were improved by 11%, 71%, and 23%, respectively, compared to those of nonreinforced PP. The thermal stability also was improved considerably by the incorporation of modified MCC into PP.

Graphic abstract

摘要

采取了一种基于生物的方法，利用葵花籽油生物柴油（葵花籽油脂肪酸乙酯，SFEEs）赋予微晶纤维素（MCC）表面疏水性，从而改善与疏水性聚丙烯（PP）基质的相容性。这种环保的绿色化学方法在MCC表面上引入了单分子长链脂肪酸层，使表面疏水。但是，根据X射线衍射结果，该表面改性过程对MCC的晶体结构没有影响。PP基体中包含表面改性的MCC可以显着改善复合材料的热机械性能。与未增强的PP相比，经表面处理的纤维增强材料的拉伸，冲击和硬度特性分别提高了11％，71％和23％。

图形摘要