Nanohydroxyapatite
(HAP) was crystallized in an aqueous solution
of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to prepare the composites of CMC
and HAP with a stable interface between them with the aim of developing
a sustainable tough biomass composite material inspired by bone. The
temperature (room temperature to 90 °C) and the concentration
of CMC (0.83–13.2 g/L) were optimized for the mechanical properties
of the composites. The composite containing 67 wt % HAP prepared at
50 °C in the presence of 9.9 g/L CMC exhibited the largest flexural
strength of 113 ± 2 MPa and the elastic modulus of 7.7 ±
0.3 GPa. X-ray diffraction showed that nanometer-sized HAP crystals
were formed with a large aspect ratio, and energy-dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy revealed that CMC was bound
to the surface of HAP through an ionic interaction between Ca
2+
and COO
–
. Since the composite has a higher
flexural strength than polyamide 6 (92 MPa) and a higher elastic modulus
than polyamide 6 with 40 wt % glass fiber (5.5 GPa), it can be used
as new tough biomass composite material to replace petroleum-derived
engineering plastics.
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