Cellulose
nanocrystals
(CNCs) are unique, lightweight materials that possess high elastic
modulus and tensile strength, making them of great interest in the
formation of nanocomposite materials. However, efficient design of
the composite material is essential in translating the mechanical
properties of the individual CNCs into the nanocomposite film. In
this work, we demonstrate the formation of structured CNC/acrylic
dispersions by physical blending of the anionic CNCs with charged
acrylic latex particles. By blending with large cationic latex particles,
the CNCs adsorbed onto the acrylic latex surface while blending with
small latex particles led to the inverse structure. Films were cast
from these dispersions and the physical properties were compared with
the aim of understanding the influence of the initial structure of
the hybrid dispersion on the structure of the final film. A significant
difference in the mechanical properties was observed based on the
position of the CNCs in the initial dispersion. Adsorption of latex
particles onto the CNC surface led to a random distribution of nonconnected
CNCs, which contributed little to improving the Young’s modulus,
while adsorption of CNC onto the latex led to a honeycomb CNC network
and a large increase in the Young’s modulus. This work underlines
the importance of particle structure on the structure and mechanical
properties of nanostructured films.
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