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Surface modified cellulose nanocrystals for tailoring interfacial miscibility and microphase separation of polymer nanocomposites

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Abstract

High performance nanocomposites with good interfacial miscibility and phase separated morphology have received a lot of attention. In this work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were first grafted with hydrophobic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chains to produce modified CNCs (PMCNCs) with increased thermal stability. Such surface-tailored CNCs effectively influenced the phase morphology and improved the mechanical properties of poly(butyl acrylate-co-MMA) (PBA-co-PMMA) nanocomposites. Morphological analysis indicated the presence of microphase separation in PMCNCs/PBA-co-PMMA nanocomposites with PBA as the soft domain and PMMA as well as CNCs as the hard domain. The nanocomposites with 10 wt% PMCNCs/PBA-co-PMMA showed increases in Young’s modulus of more than 20-fold and in tensile strength of about 3-fold compared to those of the unmodified PBA-co-PMMA copolymer. Therefore, the PMCNCs played a crucial role in controlling the interfacial miscibility and tuning the phase morphology of the nanocomposites. It is also essential to understand the role played by microphase separation in achieving nano-scaled morphological control and in fine-tuning the resultant composite properties.

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Acknowledgments

The work is carried out with financial supports from US Endowment and USDA Forest Service [E17-23], Louisiana Board of Regents [LEQSF(2017-18)-RD-A-01, LEQSF(2018-19)-ENH-DE-06], LSU LIFT program, and cooperative projects from National Institute of Forest Research, Seoul, Korea and Key Biomass Energy Laboratory of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China (Project No: 18TP06007 and 18JK1007) with the LSU AgCenter. We also appreciate the help (solvent purification system) from Dr. Donghui Zhang’s group (Department of Chemistry, LSU). Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Jinlong Zhang, Mei-Chun Li & Qinglin Wu

  2. Key Biomass Energy Laboratory of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan, China

    Xiuqiang Zhang, Suxia Ren, Lili Dong & Tingzhou Lei

  3. Department of Forest Products, Korea National Institute of Forest Research, Seoul, 130-712, Korea

    Sunyoung Lee

  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, 1100 Robert E Lee Blvd, New Orleans, LA, 70124, USA

    H. N. Cheng

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  1. Jinlong Zhang
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Zhang, J., Li, MC., Zhang, X. et al. Surface modified cellulose nanocrystals for tailoring interfacial miscibility and microphase separation of polymer nanocomposites. Cellulose 26, 4301–4312 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-019-02379-z

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