Abstract
The polymeric foamed composites were developed from the biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) reinforced by the biomass-based cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) via the melt-compounding treatment. As the highly-crystalline and rigid nanoparticles, the presence of CNC in the polyester matrix can simultaneously enhance the flexural strength and flexural modulus of the foamed composites. With the addition of 5 wt% CNC, the flexural strength and modulus of the PBS foamed composite increased by 50 and 62.9 % in comparison with those of the neat foamed material. Furthermore, the introduction of the CNC significantly affected the cells morphology, structure and stability during the foaming process, which facilitated the increase of the cell density and the homogeneous cell size and distribution of the foamed composites. With the addition of 5 wt% azodicarbonamide as the chemical blowing agent and 5 wt% CNC as the bionanofillers, the foamed composite showed the increased cell density of 7.1 × 105 cell/cm3, which was 69.1 % higher than that of the neat foamed material. The mechanical enhancement of the foamed composites was attributed to the nanoreinforcement of the CNC served as the stress transferring phase, and meanwhile the promising improvement on the cells structure and stability for the foamed composites was ascribed to the effect of the CNC acted as the nucleation component.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chen J, Sun X, Turng LS, Liu T, Yuan WK (2013) Investigation of crystallization behavior of solid and microcellular injection molded polypropylene/nano-calcium carbonate composites using carbon dioxide as a blowing agent. J Cell Plast 49:459–475. doi:10.1177/0021955X13488400
Chen MJ, Chen CR, Tan Y, Huang JQ, Wang XL, Chen L, Wang YZ (2014) Inherently flame-retardant flexible polyurethane foam with low content of phosphorus-containing cross-linking agent. Ind Eng Chem Res 53:1160–1171. doi:10.1021/ie4036753
Dufresne A (2012) Nanocellulose: from nature to high performance tailored materials. Walter de Gruyter, Germany
Faruk O, Bledzki AK, Matuana LM (2007) Microcellular foamed wood-plastic composites by different processes: a review. Macromol Mater Eng 292:113–127. doi:10.1002/mame.200600406
Favier V, Canova GR, Cavaillé JY, Chanzy H, Dufresne A, Gauthier C (1995) Nanocomposite materials from latex and cellulose whiskers. Polym Adv Technol 6:351–355. doi:10.1002/pat.1995.220060514
Forest C, Chaumont P, Cassagnau P, Swoboda B, Sonntag P (2015) Polymer nano-foams for insulating applications prepared from CO2 foaming. Prog Polym Sci 41:122–145. doi:10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2014.07.001
Fujisawa S, Zhang J, Saito T, Iwata T, Isogai A (2014) Cellulose nanofibrils as templates for the design of poly (l-lactide)-nucleating surfaces. Polymer 55:2937–2942. doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2014.04.019
Gong W, Liu KJ, Zhang C, Zhu JH, He L (2012) Foaming behavior and mechanical properties of microcellular PP/SiO2 composites. Int Polym Proc 27:181–186. doi:10.3139/217.2458
Habibi Y (2014) Key advances in the chemical modification of nanocelluloses. Chem Soc Rev 43:1519–1542. doi:10.1039/C3CS60204D
Hwang SY, Yoo ES, Im SS (2012) The synthesis of copolymers, blends and composites based on poly (butylene succinate). Polym J 44:1179–1190. doi:10.1038/pj.2012.157
Jeon B, Kim HK, Cha SW, Lee SJ, Han MS, Lee KS (2013) Microcellular foam processing of biodegradable polymers—review. Int J Precis Eng Manuf 14:679–690. doi:10.1007/s12541-013-0092-0
Lee LJ, Zeng C, Cao X, Han X, Shen J, Xu G (2005) Polymer nanocomposite foams. Compos Sci Technol 65:2344–2363. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.06.016
Lee KY, Aitomäki Y, Berglund LA, Oksman K, Bismarck A (2014) On the use of nanocellulose as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites. Compos Sci Technol 105:15–27. doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2014.08.032
Li S, Li C, Li C, Yan M, Wu Y, Cao J, He S (2013) Fabrication of nano-crystalline cellulose with phosphoric acid and its full application in a modified polyurethane foam. Polym Degrad Stabil 98:1940–1944. doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2013.06.017
Lim SK, Lee SI, Jang SG, Lee KH, Choi HJ, Chin IJ (2011) Synthetic aliphatic biodegradable poly (butylene succinate)/MWNT nanocomposite foams and their physical characteristics. J Macromol Sci Phys 50:1171–1184. doi:10.1080/00222348.2010.503119
Lin N, Huang J, Chang PR, Feng J, Yu J (2011a) Surface acetylation of cellulose nanocrystal and its reinforcing function in poly (lactic acid). Carbohydr Polym 83:1834–1842. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2010.10.047
Lin N, Yu J, Chang PR, Li J, Huang J (2011b) Poly (butylene succinate)-based biocomposites filled with polysaccharide nanocrystals: structure and properties. Polym Compos 32:472–482. doi:10.1002/pc.21066
Matuana LM, Faruk O, Diaz CA (2009) Cell morphology of extrusion foamed poly (lactic acid) using endothermic chemical foaming agent. Bioresour Technol 100:5947–5954. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2009.06.063
Mi HY, Jing X, Peng J, Salick MR, Peng XF, Turng LS (2014) Poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/cellulose nano-crystal (CNC) nanocomposites and foams. Cellulose 21:2727–2741. doi:10.1007/s10570-014-0327-y
Naguib HE, Park CB, Song SW (2005) Effect of supercritical gas on crystallization of linear and branched polypropylene resins with foaming additives. Ind Eng Chem Res 44:6685–6691. doi:10.1021/ie0489608
Pei A, Malho JM, Ruokolainen J, Zhou Q, Berglund LA (2011) Strong nanocomposite reinforcement effects in polyurethane elastomer with low volume fraction of cellulose nanocrystals. Macromolecules 44:4422–4427. doi:10.1021/ma200318k
Pop-Iliev R, Liu F, Liu G, Park CB (2003) Rotational foam molding of polypropylene with control of melt strength. Adv Polym Technol 22:280–296. doi:10.1002/adv.10056
Pushpadass HA, Weber RW, Hanna MA (2008) Expansion, morphological, and mechanical properties of starch–polystyrene foams containing various additives. Ind Eng Chem Res 47:4736–4742. doi:10.1021/ie071049h
Segal LGJMA, Creely JJ, Martin AE, Conrad CM (1959) An empirical method for estimating the degree of crystallinity of native cellulose using the X-ray diffractometer. Text Res J 29:786–794. doi:10.1177/004051755902901003
Shen J, Zeng C, Lee LJ (2005) Synthesis of polystyrene–carbon nanofibers nanocomposite foams. Polymer 46:5218–5224. doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2005.04.010
Visakh PM, Thomas S, Oksman K, Mathew AP (2012) Crosslinked natural rubber nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose whiskers isolated from bamboo waste: processing and mechanical/thermal properties. Compos A 43:735–741. doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2011.12.015
Wong A, Wijnands SF, Kuboki T, Park CB (2013) Mechanisms of nanoclay-enhanced plastic foaming processes: effects of nanoclay intercalation and exfoliation. J Nanopart Res 15:1–15. doi:10.1007/s11051-013-1815-y
Wu Q, Zhou N, Zhan D (2009) Effect of processing parameters and vibrating field on poly (vinyl chloride) microcellular foam morphology. Polym Plast Technol Eng 48:851–859. doi:10.1080/03602550902994912
Xue BL, Wen JL, Sun RC (2014) Lignin-based rigid polyurethane foam reinforced with pulp fiber: synthesis and characterization. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2:1474–1480. doi:10.1021/sc5001226
Zhou J, Yao Z, Zhou C, Wei D, Li S (2014) Mechanical properties of PLA/PBS foamed composites reinforced by organophilic montmorillonite. J Appl Polym Sci 131:40773. doi:10.1002/app.40773
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51373131), Project of New Century Excellent Talents of Ministry of Education of China (NCET-11-0686), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Self-Determined and Innovative Research Funds of WUT, 2014-II-009).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lin, N., Chen, Y., Hu, F. et al. Mechanical reinforcement of cellulose nanocrystals on biodegradable microcellular foams with melt-compounding process. Cellulose 22, 2629–2639 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0684-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0684-1