Driven by environmental awareness, the production of cellulose nanocomposites has increasingly gained attention over the years. Numerous researchers have reported improvements in the properties of cellulose nanofibers (CNF)-reinforced composites. However, the isolation of highly individualized CNF from their plant celluloses requires a high energy consumption and must be done separately prior to composites production. These factors limit the large-scale industrialization of CNF as reinforcement in composites. Twin screw extrusion (TSE) is a promising method to both fibrillate cellulose and produce composites in a one-step extrusion treatment. The shearing action between the two screws and prepregs would promote cellulose fibrillation and dispersion; consequently, leading to an improvement in the properties of composites. So far, there have been limited studies on one-step extrusion treatment of cellulose nanocomposites.<br/>In this study, we report a one-step extrusion treatment method that allows in situ fibrillation of cellulose and the compounding of cellulose nanocomposites. Bagasse fibre dissolving pulp was first subjected to TEMPO-mediated oxidation followed by protonation of carboxyl group using hydrochloric acid (HCl). The fibrillation and compounding of the TEMPO-oxidized cellulose with PP fibre were done in TSE and the composites were moulded using an injection moulding. The wettability and the thermal degradation behaviour of the TEMPO-oxidized cellulose is reported in this study. The tensile properties, crystallisation and melt behaviour, thermal degradation and fracture surface morphology of PP and its composites will also be discussed in the presentation.

Melt extrusion of polypropylene nanocomposites reinforced with TEMPO-oxidized pulp

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.