Poly(lactic acid)/cellulose nanocrystal composites via the Pickering emulsion approach: Rheological, thermal and mechanical properties

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were evenly dispersed into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) via the Pickering emulsion approach. The PLA/CNC composites prepared were studied by rheological, thermal as well as mechanical measurements. Changes in the rheological characteristics of the composites showed that CNC promoted the transition of the composites from fluid to solid-like behavior at high temperatures. The introduction of 5 wt% CNC improved the crystallinity of PLA considerably and increased the onset temperature of crystallization by about 10 °C. The storage modulus of the composites increased throughout the entire temperature range of testing. Flexural modulus was improved considerably. All the results indicated that the Pickering emulsion approach improves the dispersion of CNC in the PLA matrix and CNC improves efficiently most properties of PLA.

Organic acids under pressure: elastic properties, negative mechanical phenomena and pressure induced phase transitions in the lactic, maleic, succinic and citric acids

“…Lactic acid is an important building block for the production of biodegradable polymers as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) which are among the most frequently used in medical sutures and devices, bioimplants and scaffolds in tissue engineering. [220][221][222][223][224][225] While the mechanical properties of PLA films and many related materials have been studied, [226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233][234][235][236][237][238][239] the mechanical properties of solid lactic acid are unknown.…”

Pickering/Non‐Pickering Emulsions of Nanostructured Sulfonated Lignin Derivatives

“…[5,6] The long-term stability of emulsions is an es-sentialf actor in many industries, such as food storageo rc osmetic formulations. [7,8] However,t here are severalo ther applications for which the short-term stabilization of an emulsion or reversible adsorption of surfactant is the primaryc oncern,i ncluding emulsion polymerization, [9] oil recovery, [10] andi nterfacial catalysis for biphasic reactions. [11] Switching on and off of Pickering emulsions has been extensively studied at different pH values, [12] temperatures, [13] magnetic fields, [14] and in the presence of CO 2 .…”

“…It has been proposed that the irreversible adsorption of particles at the oil interface in Pickering emulsions is due to the formation of a densely packed particle layer at the oil/water interface, which prevents both emulsion flocculation and coalescence by inducing a steric barrier . The long‐term stability of emulsions is an essential factor in many industries, such as food storage or cosmetic formulations . However, there are several other applications for which the short‐term stabilization of an emulsion or reversible adsorption of surfactant is the primary concern, including emulsion polymerization, oil recovery, and interfacial catalysis for biphasic reactions .…”

An overview of the recent advances in polylactide‐based sustainable nanocomposites

“…Improvement in tensile modulus, tensile strength, flexural modulus, and flexural strength has also been achieved with HNT, [ 222–224 ] sepiolite, [ 225–227 ] CNC, [ 228–230 ] CNF, [ 209, 210, 231 ] CNT, [ 232–234 ] and graphene [ 169, 235–238 ] the improvement being dependent on the filler loading, the extent of dispersion of the filler particles and their interaction with the PLA matrix (achieved by means of surface modification of the nanofiller or by use of compatibilizer).…”

“…Cao et al [ 222 ] reported a lowering of the thermal stability of PLA with the incorporation of HNTs. Improvement in thermal stability of PLA due to incorporation of nanoparticles has been reported studies on PLA/CNC, [ 230 ] PLA/CNT, [ 262 ] and PLA/EG [ 169 ] nanocomposites.…”