Influence of addition of vapor grown carbon fibers on mechanical, thermal and biodegradation properties of lignin nanoparticle filled bio-poly(trimethylene terephthalate) hybrid nanocomposites

摘要

Bio-poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (bio-PTT) hybrid nanocomposites constituting 1.5 wt% of lignin nanoparticles (LNP) and variable wt% of vapor-grown carbon fibers (VGCF) were prepared using melt extrusion followed by a microinjection molding technique. Mechanical results revealed an improvement in tensile flexural and impact properties of bio-PTT with 1.5 wt% LNP and bio-PTT hybrid nanocomposites with the incorporation of 7 wt% of VGCF, respectively. The thermal properties of the hybrid nanocomposites have been investigated using HDT, and TGA. FTIR analysis confirmed the formation of hydrogen bonds between the aliphatic-OH groups of LNP and the carbonyl group of the bio-PTT matrix. The water resistance of the bio-PTT/LNP/VGCF hybrid nanocomposites was higher than that of bio-PTT/LNP nanocomposites as well as the bio-PTT matrix. In addition, the morphological changes in the hybrid nanocomposites were also monitored through scanning electron microscopy (SEM).