Structure and properties of new thermoforming bionanocomposites based on chitin whisker‐graft‐polycaprolactone

Abstract

Thermoformable bionanocomposites of chitin whisker-graft-polycaprolactone (CHW-g-PCL) were synthesized by initiating the ring-opening polymerization of caprolactone monomer onto the CHW surface under microwave radiation. In this case, the ''graft from'' strategy contributed to long and dense ''plasticizing'' PCL tails onto the CHW surface as the key of thermoforming, and, therefore, such bionanocomposites were injection-molded as the sheets with a structure of cocontinuous phase mediated with the entanglement of grafted PCL chains. The structure and properties of the molded CHW-g-PCL sheets were investigated by FTIR, XRD, SEM, DSC, DMTA, contact angle measurement, and tensile test. With an increase of the PCL content in CHW-g-PCL, the strength and elongation as well as the hydrophobicity of the nanocomposites increased at one time. This is the first report on the thermoformable polymer-grafted nanocrystal derived from natural polysaccharide. Moreover, such new bionanocomposites with good mechanical performances could have great potential applications.

Thermoplastic Nanocomposites and Their Processing Techniques

“…The processing of polymeric materials (such as plastics, elastomers and composites, etc) is characterized by a wide variety of distinct techniques such as extrusion (Vaia et al, 1994), film blowing (Golebiewski et al, 2008), sheet thermoforming (Feng et al, 2009), blow molding (http://www.petmachine.in/type_of_blow_moulding.htm), and injection molding (Chandra et al, 2007), etc. Extrusion is the continuously shaping of a fluid polymer and/or its nanocomposite through the orifice of a suitable tool (die) (Figure 6a), followed by solidifying it into extrudate of constant cross section.…”

Cellulose-reinforced composites: From micro-to nanoscale

“…Chitin whiskers were isolated and polycaprolactone grafted (CHW-g-PCL) in view of preparing thermoformable bionanocomposites [31][32][33][34] . The grafting was achieved by initiating the ring-opening polymerization ("grafting from" strategy) of caprolactone monomer onto the CHW surface under microwave radiation.…”

The Influence of Epitaxial Crystallization on the Mechanical Properties of Polyamide 66/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Injection Bar

“…The ability of interfacial interactions between inorganic nanomaterials and polymers is the most important factor for the high-performance polymer-inorganic nanocomposite [5][6][7]. The studies on the interfacial interactions of polymers and filler focus on the following four strategies: (1) surface modification of the nanomaterial [8][9][10][11]; (2) modification of the polymer [12]; (3) preparing polymer composites via an in-situ polymerization method [13][14][15]; and (4) adding a compatibilizer [16,17]. The physical method can enhance interfacial interactions and avoid the destruction of the structure and properties of inorganic nanomaterial.…”