Enhanced ductility and tensile properties of hybrid montmorillonite/cellulose nanowhiskers reinforced polylactic acid nanocomposites

Reza Arjmandi, Azman Hassan, Stephen J. Eichhorn, M. K. Mohamad Haafiz, Zainoha Zakaria, Faisal Amri Tanjung

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Montmorillonite (MMT)/cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) hybrid nanocomposites were prepared by solution casting. CNW were isolated from microcrystalline cellulose using a chemical swelling method. An initial study showed that the optimum MMT content, for mechanical properties, in a PLA/MMT nanocomposite is five parts per hundred parts of polymer (phr). Various amounts of CNW were added to the optimum formulation of PLA/MMT to produce PLA/MMT/CNW hybrid nanocomposites. FT-IR analysis indicated the formation of some polar interactions, resulting in enhanced tensile properties of the hybrid nanocomposites. The highest tensile strength for the hybrid nanocomposites was obtained for a 1 phr CNW content. Young’s modulus was also found to increase with an increasing CNW content. Interestingly, the strain to failure (or ductility) of the hybrid nanocomposites increased significantly from ~10 to ~90 % with the addition of 1 phr CNW. This increase in ductility was proposed to be due to the nucleation of crazes and the formation of shear bands in the PLA.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3118–3130
JournalJournal of Materials Science
Volume50
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2015

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