Dispersion of Soybean Stock Nanofibers in a Plastic Matrix

摘要

The focus in this work has been to study the dispersion mechanism of soybean stock based nanofibers in plastic matrix. The cellulose nanofibers were extracted from soybean stock by chemo-mechanical treatments. These are bundles of cellulose nanofibers with a diameter ranging between 10 to 70 nm and lengths of thousands of nanometers, The mechanical performance of the cellulose nanofibers is comparable to other engineering materials such as glass fibers, carbon fibers etc. It is predicted that nanoreinforeements of the polymer matrix, are poised to create the next generation of value-added novel eco-friendly nanocomposites. These nanofibers were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Selective chemical treatments increased cellulose content of soybean stock nanofibers from 41% to 61%. The matrix polymer used in this project was polyethylene (PE). One of the problems encountered in the use of nanoreinforcements lies in the difficulty in ensuring good dispersion of the filler in the composite material. To synthesize a biocomposite with PE, the composite materials having a nanofiber content of 2.5% and 5% were compression moulded to test samples. Improved dispersion level of nanofibers within a thermoplastic was achieved by adding ethylene-acrylic oligomer emulsion as a dispersant. In solid phase of nanofiber/PE composites, preliminary results showed that improved mechanical properties were achieved with coated nanofibers.