@Article{JRM.2017.634144,
AUTHOR = {Liqing Wei, Shupin Luo, Armando G. McDonald, Umesh P. Agarwal, Kolby C. Hirth, Laurent M. Matuana, Ronald C. Sabo, Nicole M. Stark},
TITLE = {Preparation and Characterization of the Nanocomposites from Chemically Modified Nanocellulose and Poly(lactic acid)},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {5},
YEAR = {2017},
NUMBER = {5},
PAGES = {410--422},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v5n5/28808},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are renewable and sustainable filler for polymeric nanocomposites. However, their high hydrophilicity limits their use with hydrophobic polymer for composite materials. In this study, freeze-dried CNCs were modified by transesterification with canola oil fatty acid methyl ester to reduce the hydrophilicity. The transesterified CNCs (CNCFE) were compounded with PLA into nanocomposites. CNCFE with long-chain hydrocarbons plays a role as plasticizer. Increasing CNCFE loadings resulted in clear plasticizing effects. Lower Tg and Tm were achieved for CNCFE-based nanocomposites. Plasticizing nanocomposite melt with CNCFE can mitigate the degradation of CNCs during thermal processing. The elongation at break of nanocomposites containing 5% CNCFE was increased. Dynamic rheological study showed the highest elastic and viscous moduli (G′ and G″) and complex viscosity (G*) of nanocomposites with addition of 2% CNCFE. By tailoring the loadings of the transesterified CNCs, tunable structure and properties of nanocomposites can be obtained.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2017.634144}
}