Improvement of polylactic acid film properties through the addition of cellulose nanocrystals isolated from waste cotton cloth

Zhanhong Wang; Zhengjun Yao; Jintang Zhou; Meng He; Qiong Jiang; Aimin Li; Shuiping Li; Manqing Liu; Sen Luo; Dewen Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.02.021

Improvement of polylactic acid film properties through the addition of cellulose nanocrystals isolated from waste cotton cloth

Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 May 15:129:878-886. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.02.021. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Authors

Zhanhong Wang¹, Zhengjun Yao², Jintang Zhou³, Meng He⁴, Qiong Jiang⁴, Aimin Li⁴, Shuiping Li⁴, Manqing Liu⁴, Sen Luo⁴, Dewen Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China; School of Materials Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, Jiangsu, China.
² College of Materials and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials and Application Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China. Electronic address: Zj_yao2014@163.com.
³ College of Materials and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials and Application Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China. Electronic address: jtzhou2014@163.com.
⁴ School of Materials Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, Jiangsu, China.

PMID: 30735776
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.02.021

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were isolated from waste cotton cloth fibers using a mixed acid hydrolysis method and subsequently used as fillers to reinforce a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix for the construction of high performance and biodegradable PLA/CNC composite films. The morphology, structure, and thermal and mechanical properties of CNCs, PLA, and the composite films were characterized. The length, diameter, and aspect ratio of CNCs ranged from 38 to 424 nm, 2 to 17 nm, and 10-32 respectively. The crystallinity, tensile strength, elasticity modulus, and work-to-break of PLA/CNC composite films were effectively improved by the addition of 0.1 wt% and 0.3 wt% CNCs. However, poor performance parameters were acquired at higher CNC content (0.7 wt%), because the CNCs were not well distributed in the polymer matrix.

Keywords: Acid hydrolysis; Cellulose nanocrystals; Composite films; Cotton; Mechanical properties; Polylactic acid.

MeSH terms

Cellulose / chemistry*
Chemical Phenomena
Cotton Fiber / analysis*
Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Polyesters / chemistry*
Spectrum Analysis
Textiles / analysis*
Thermogravimetry

Substances

Polyesters
poly(lactide)
Cellulose