Abstract

The difficulty of dispersing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was still a primary obstacle to enhance the properties of PLA nanocomposites. In this work, two different methods were used to modify CNCs that were then added dropwise and mixed with the PLA solution to conveniently obtain the composites. Transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize CNCs before and after modification. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, tensile tests, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the PLA nanocomposites. The results revealed that the CNCs that were modified with surfactant had better dispersion and thermal stability in the PLA nanocomposites. The Young’s modulus and strength of PLA/SCNC nanocomposites were significantly reinforced (up to 66.0% and 29.8%, respectively). Meanwhile, the transmittance remained above 60% in the visible range. The solution precipitation approach was effective and simple, which could be used with other polymers.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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溶液沉淀法制备纤维素纳米晶增强聚乳酸纳米复合材料

摘要

难以将纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）分散在聚乳酸（PLA）中仍然是增强PLA纳米复合材料性能的主要障碍。在这项工作中，使用了两种不同的方法来修改CNC，然后逐滴添加并与PLA溶液混合以方便地获得复合材料。修改前后，使用透射电子显微镜和傅立叶变换红外光谱来表征CNC。紫外可见光谱法，拉伸试验，差示扫描量热法和热重分析法用于表征PLA纳米复合材料。结果表明，表面活性剂改性的CNCs在PLA纳米复合材料中具有更好的分散性和热稳定性。PLA / SCNC纳米复合材料的杨氏模量和强度得到了显着增强（分别达到66.0％和29.8％）。同时，透射率在可见光范围内保持在60％以上。溶液沉淀法是有效且简单的，可以与其他聚合物一起使用。

图形摘要