Structure and Properties of Polylactic Acid Biocomposite Films Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibrils
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Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
3
Analysis and Testing Center, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Denis Mihaela Panaitescu and Adriana Nicoleta Frone
Molecules 2020, 25(14), 3306; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143306
Received: 6 July 2020
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Revised: 19 July 2020
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Accepted: 20 July 2020
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Published: 21 July 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellulose Nanomaterials: Production and Applications)
Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising biodegradable and recyclable thermoplastic biopolymer derived from renewable feedstock. Nanocellulose reinforced PLA biocomposites have received increasing attention in academic and industrial communities. In the present study, cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) was liberated by combined enzymatic pretreatment and high-pressure homogenization, and then subsequently incorporated into the PLA matrix to synthesize PLA/CNF biocomposite films via solution casting and melt compression. The prepared PLA/CNF biocomposite films were characterized in terms of transparency (UV-Vis spectroscopy), chemical structure (attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared, ATR-FTIR; X-ray powder diffraction, XRD), thermal (thermogravimetric analyzer, TGA; differential scanning calorimetry, DSC), and tensile properties. With 1.0–5.0 wt % additions of CNF to the PLA matrix, noticeable improvements in thermal and physical properties were observed for the resulting PLA/CNF biocomposites. The 2.5 wt % addition of CNF increased the tensile strength by 8.8%. The Tonset (initial degradation temperature) and Tmax (maximum degradation temperature) after adding 5.0 wt % CNF was increased by 20 °C, and 10 °C, respectively in the nitrogen atmosphere. These improvements were attributed to the good dispersibility and improved interfacial interaction of CNF in the PLA matrix.
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Keywords:
cellulose nanofibrils; polylactic acid biocomposite; solution casting; melt compression; mechanical property; thermal property
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wang, Q.; Ji, C.; Sun, J.; Zhu, Q.; Liu, J. Structure and Properties of Polylactic Acid Biocomposite Films Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibrils. Molecules 2020, 25, 3306. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143306
AMA Style
Wang Q, Ji C, Sun J, Zhu Q, Liu J. Structure and Properties of Polylactic Acid Biocomposite Films Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibrils. Molecules. 2020; 25(14):3306. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143306
Chicago/Turabian StyleWang, Qianqian, Chencheng Ji, Jianzhong Sun, Qianqian Zhu, and Jun Liu. 2020. "Structure and Properties of Polylactic Acid Biocomposite Films Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibrils" Molecules 25, no. 14: 3306. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143306
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