Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have emerged as fillers of interest to the polymer nanocomposite community due to their inherent properties and renewable precursors. However, challenges persist to incorporate CNCs into polymer matrices due to component incompatibility and/or thermal stability limitations of the nanoparticles. Therefore, the objective of this research is to examine the efficacy of different processing methods in producing CNC/polymer composites. In this work, CNCs were incorporated into polyethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol (EVOH) using either a solution casting method or a multi‐step method involving the same solution casting method followed by a melt mixing step. The resulting neat EVOH and composite materials were characterized to understand how the viscoelastic character and mechanical properties were influenced by CNC loading and processing method. The results of characterization experiments and micromechanical modeling suggested that the nanoparticle networks produced by each method were different and that a combined solution‐melt processing method is beneficial in producing composites with improved properties, particularly at higher CNC loadings. This processing strategy may be more broadly applied to other nanocomposites.

中文翻译：

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加工方法对纤维素纳米晶体/聚乙烯-共-乙烯醇复合材料的影响

纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）由于其固有的性能和可再生的前体，已成为聚合物纳米复合材料社区感兴趣的填料。然而，由于纳米颗粒的组分不相容性和/或热稳定性限制，将CNCs掺入聚合物基质中仍然存在挑战。因此，本研究的目的是检验不同加工方法在生产CNC /聚合物复合材料中的功效。在这项工作中，CNC通过溶液浇铸法或多步法（包括相同的溶液浇铸法，然后进行熔体混合步骤）被并入聚乙烯-乙烯醇（EVOH）中。对所得的纯净EVOH和复合材料进行了表征，以了解CNC加载和加工方法如何影响粘弹性和机械性能。表征实验和微机械建模的结果表明，每种方法产生的纳米颗粒网络是不同的，并且溶液-熔体联合处理方法有利于生产性能改善的复合材料，特别是在较高的CNC负载下。该加工策略可以更广泛地应用于其他纳米复合材料。特别是在较高的CNC负载下。该加工策略可以更广泛地应用于其他纳米复合材料。特别是在较高的CNC负载下。该加工策略可以更广泛地应用于其他纳米复合材料。