Tensile properties and wear resistance of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanofibers
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Publication Details
Author list: Wongjaiyen T., Brostow W., Chonkaew W.
Publisher: Springer
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Polymer Bulletin (0170-0839)
Volume number: 75
Issue number: 5
Start page: 2039
End page: 2051
Number of pages: 13
ISSN: 0170-0839
eISSN: 1436-2449
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Abstract
Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared from sugarcane bagasse and used as reinforcement in epoxy nanocomposites. To obtain CNFs, the cellulose was bleached with sodium chlorite, hydrothermally hydrolyzed with 5% w/v oxalic acid under pressure of 800 psi at 100 °C in a microwave reactor, and homogenized using a mechanical homogenizer. The diameters of CNFs determined from field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) vary from 8 to 86 nm. The percentage crystallinity obtained from X-ray diffractometry is 62.8%. The epoxy was mixed with the prepared CNFs and cured at room temperature for 7 days. The effects of CNFs concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 wt%, dry basis) on the tensile properties and scratch resistance of the nanocomposites were investigated. Young’s modulus and tensile strength increased with an increasing CNFs loading up to 3 wt %. Above that concentration the tensile elongation at break increased; this was at the rate faster than the modulus decreased. The instantaneous and healing scratch depths and thus viscoelastic recovery were determined using a micro-scratch tester. The percentage recovery values are higher for the nanocomposites than for the pure epoxy. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.
Keywords
CNFs, Epoxy nanocomposites, Tensile properties