Adhesion Dynamics for Cellulose Nanocomposites

摘要

The efficiency of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as a matrix polymer For cellulose nanocomposites has been investigated at the macromolecular contact level using atomic force microscopy in a colloidal probe configuration. Model cellulose microspheres grafted with PCL were prepared, via ring-opening polymerization. Force measurements between the functionalized particles revealed the adhesion to be highly dependent on the contact time because of a diffusion-controlled mechanism. Moreover, an increase of the temperature to 60°C (close to T_m for the PCL graft) greatly enhanced the adhesion at the polymer-polymer interface, demonstrating the importance of entanglements in the annealing of composite materials.