Composite Films of Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Bifunctional Cross-linking Cellulose Nanocrystals

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2015 papers

Abstract

Long and flexible cellulose nanofibrils or stiff and short cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are both promising lightweight materials with high strength and the potential to serve as reinforcing agents in many polymeric materials. In this study, bifunctional reactive cellulose nanocrystals (RCNCs) with carboxyl and aldehyde functionalities were used as reinforcements to prepare acetal-bonding cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films. Two RCNCs were obtained through the mechanical homogenization of partially carboxylated dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) with a residual aldehyde content of 0.55 and 1.93 mmol/g and a carboxyl content of 1.65 and 1.93 mmol/g, respectively. The mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of PVA-RCNC films with a variable mass ratio of RCNCs (0.5-10%) were determined. Reference CNCs without reactive aldehydes were obtained through the reduction of aldehyde functionalities to primary hydroxide groups, and their reinforcing effect was compared to RCNCs. With the addition of 10% acetal-bonding RCNCs with respect to PVA weight, the tensile strength and Young's modulus were up to 2-fold greater than those of pure PVA film. An addition of only 0.5% RCNCs improved the tensile strength of the PVA film by 66% and the modulus by 61%. In comparison, a significantly lower reinforcing effect (19% with CNC loading of 0.5%) was found using reference CNCs. PVA's effective oxygen barrier and thermal properties were preserved when RCNCs were introduced into the films.

Related Papers

• → A bifunctional luminescent europium–organic framework for highly selective sensing of nitrobenzene and 4-aminophenol(2017)24 cited
• → Coupling rules for bifunctional pair sites(2023)5 cited
• → Autoxidation of mercaptans promoted by a bifunctional catalyst(1977)77 cited
• → Determination of bifunctional compounds. Part IV. 4-iodobutaneboronic acid as a selective reagent for the trace determination of bifunctional compounds(1979)17 cited
• → Correction: Effects of the support on bifunctional one-step synthesis of methylal via methanol oxidation catalysed by Fe–Mo-based bifunctional catalysts(2022)