Effects of cellulose nanowhiskers on the properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene nanoplatelets nanocomposites

Abstract

Cellulose nanowhisker (CNW) is a kind of ideal reinforcing filler due to its biodegradability and renewability together with superior mechanical properties. CNW hybridization with graphene nanoplatelet (GN) incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films were produced by ultrasonication mixing prior to solution casting. CNW showed positive effects on the PVA/GN composite films, which improved the dispersion of GN and refined GN by replacing partial GN with CNW in PVA/ GN composite films. The addition of CNW effectively prevented the aggregation of GN in PVA matrices during the evaporation of water. Lateral size of GN is reduced by replacement of 0.1 and 0.4 wt% GN with an equivalent amount of CNW. The grain size of PVA decreased from 3.2 nm for PVA-0.5%GN to 2.8-3.1 nm for PVA/CNW/GN composite films. Young's modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break of PVA/GN composite films increased by 12, 13, 150% when 0.1 wt% GN was replaced by CNW, respectively. The glass transition temperature moved from 30.68C for pure PVA to 40.48C for PVA/CNW/GN composite and the storage modulus of composite increased by 93%. With only 0.1%CNW addition, the swelling ratio of PVA-0.5%GN composites decreased by 15% and the conductivity of PVA-0.5%GN composites increase by 156%. The PVAbased composite with improved water resistance and electrical conductivity are potential for functional applications in the industrial field. POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000-000, 2015.

Development of green composites of poly (vinyl alcohol) reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose derived from sago seed shells

“…Comparing Fig. a, b, stretching frequency at 3408 cm −1 of neat PVA gets blue shifted to 3290 cm −1 for PVA‐1MCC, indicating the disruption of hydrogen bond existed in PVA film and possibility of formation of new hydrogen bond between OH groups of PVA and MCC due to sonication . For PVA‐3MCC from Fig.…”

“…It was found that the XRD pattern Fig. a of 5PVA film contains a narrow peak at 2 θ 19.4°, and broad peaks at 22.5° and 28.5° corresponding to the characteristic semi crystalline nature of pure PVA . From Fig.…”

Improved dispersion of the graphene and corrosion resistance of waterborne epoxy–graphene composites by minor cellulose nanowhiskers

“…First, the CNWs could stably disperse in the water because of the negative charges on their surfaces, as illustrated in Figure (h). At the same time, the strong adsorption between the CNWs and GN through molecular interactions was favorable for the good dispersion of GN, as shown in Figure (i). We observed that a lot of CNWs randomly absorbed onto the surface of GN sheets, as shown in Figure (k).…”

“…First, the CNWs extracted from linen fibers on the basis of the acid hydrolysis method, as previously reported, were diluted with DI water and ultrasonicated for 20 min to obtain a homogeneous aqueous dispersion, as shown in Figure (a,b). The CNWs were extracted from bleached linen with acid hydrolysis methods.…”