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Morphological investigation of polylactide/microfibrillated cellulose composites

Plummer, Christopher ; Choo, Caleb ; Boissard, Carole ; Bourban, Pierre-Etienne ; Månson, Jan-Anders

In: Colloid and Polymer Science, 2013, vol. 291, no. 9, p. 2203-2211

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    Title
    • Morphological investigation of polylactide/microfibrillated cellulose composites
    Author
    • Plummer, Christopher. Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères (LTC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 12, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Choo, Caleb. Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères (LTC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 12, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Boissard, Carole. Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères (LTC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 12, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Bourban, Pierre-Etienne. Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères (LTC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 12, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Månson, Jan-Anders. Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères (LTC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 12, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Colloid and Polymer Science, 2013, vol. 291, no. 9, p. 2203-2211. Springer Berlin Heidelberg
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:312252
    Summary
    Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have been used to investigate the morphology of polylactide (PLA)/microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) composites prepared by: compression molding of wet-comingled MFC and PLA latex or powder, twin-screw extrusion of the wet-comingled compounds, and solvent mixing of PLA with MFC or acetylated MFC. Compression molding of wet-comingled MFC and PLA latex or powder compounds resulted in a cellular MFC network, whereas solvent-cast films showed a more uniform dispersion of MFC fibers. Somewhat lower aggregate diameters observed in the acetylated MFC were assumed to be due to decreased MFC hydrophilicity and improved chemical affinity with the PLA matrix. The MFC networks in the commingled compounds were severely disrupted after twin-screw extrusion. This confirmed the limited deformability of the networks inferred from the extensive syneresis during the initial compression molding step, and accounted for substantial losses in stiffness reinforcement by the MFC after extrusion