Combination of mortar grinder mill (MG) and ionic liquid (IL) treatment was employed in order to fibrillate fibers from oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) in one-step. The structural changes of OPMF before and after the treatment were examined by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectra, Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Compared with the only use of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM[BF 4 ]), combination of MG and IL helped to remove hemicellulose and lignin components partially from OPMF, and also fibrillated OPMF fibers at average particle diameter of 127 nm. Afterwards, the fibrillated fibers were utilized as reinforcement material for the purpose of enhancement of mechanical properties of poly(E-caprolactone)(PCL). The addition of OPMF treated with the combined method led to a 64% increase in tensile strength in comparison with that of untreated OPMF. These results indicate that the combined method enables effective fibrillation.
Graphene
has attracted lots of researchers attention because of
its remarkable conductivity in both electrically and thermally. However,
it has poor dispersibility in organic solvents which limited its applications.
Polymers with aromatic end group which act as an intercalator were
prepared by ring-opening polymerization with ε-caprolactone
by utilizing 1-naphthalene methanol (1-NM) as an initiator. These
intercalators will exist between graphene oxide (GO) sheets to prevent
aggregation via interactions. The attachment of 1-NM on polymer chains
was supported by ultraviolet–visible spectra, size exclusion
chromatography profiles, and
1
H nuclear magnetic resonance
spectra. Exfoliated structured functionalized GO (fGO)/polycaprolactone
(PCL) (synthesized fGO) nanocomposites that dispersed well in acetone,
chloroform,
N
,
N
-dimethylformamide,
dimethyl sulfoxide, tetrahydrofuran, and toluene were successfully
synthesized. This agreed well with the enlarged interlayer spacing
in the optimized fGO as compared to that of GO from density functional
theory simulations using the DMol
3
module that implemented
in the Materials Studio 6.0. Furthermore, its potential to be applied
as green electronics in electronics, aerospace, and automotive industries
was presented, by trailering the thermal conductivity enhancement
from the incorporation of fGO/PCL with commercialized biodegradable
polymers, PCL, and poly[(
R
)-3-hydroxybutyric acid].
This
work tackles the disadvantages in the production of functionalized
nanofibers from biomass and offers a new methodology to nanofiber-reinforced
composite manufacturing. A vapor-phase-assisted surface polymerization
(VASP) method has been used to develop surface-modified lignocellulosic
nanofibers. Through the vaporized monomers during polymerization,
the polymer chains can be introduced deep within oil palm mesocarp
fibers (OPMFs) due to their unique porous structure. After OPMFs are
modified with polymer chains, the simple Mortar grinder mill–ionic
liquid (M-IL) method provides fibrillation from the macro- to nanoscale,
retaining the grafted polymer chains. This approach for the functionalization
of biomass could lead to the large-scale fabrication of surface-modified
nanofibers for reinforced materials and promote innovative implementations
of the renewable biomass resource.
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