Microfibrillated‐cellulose‐reinforced polyester nanocomposites prepared by filtration and hot pressing: Bending properties and three‐dimensional formability

Abstract

The microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)-polyester fiber nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing various amounts of MFC with polyester fibers in water, followed by filtration, mold compression, drying, and hot pressing. Further, bending tests and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the hot-pressed nanocomposites were performed, and the three-dimensional (3D) formability of the samples subjected to hot pressing was investigated. With more than 50 wt% MFC content, the bending strength and elastic modulus of the materials substantially increased. Furthermore, the DMA results revealed that, with increasing MFC content, the decrease in the material storage modulus with increasing temperature became less pronounced. Results indicate that the MFC network formation increased in materials with increasing MFC content. The 3D formation was also possible in all the samples, and an increase in sample expansion and decrease in the spring-back of shapes with increasing moisture content were observed with an increase in the polyester fiber content in the materials.

Optimization of process parameters of recycled carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic prepared by the wet-laid hybrid nonwoven process

“…Plant fiber and PLA were also utilized as raw materials in the wet-laid hybrid nonwoven process by Du et al, 19 Carbonell et al, 20 and Sousa et al 21 to develop fiber-reinforced structural materials or packing materials. Ishikura and Yano 22 prepared a MFC fiberreinforced PET composite prepared by the wet-laid hybrid nonwoven process. In their research, the molding temperature was fixed at 200 C and the pressure and time were adjusted to maintain the dimensions of the nonwoven preform as much as possible.…”