A Novel Thermoformable Bionanocomposite Based on Cellulose Nanocrystal-graft-Poly(ε-caprolactone)

✍ Scribed by Guangjun Chen; Alain Dufresne; Jin Huang; Peter R. Chang

• Book ID: 102939824
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 869 KB
• Volume: 294
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1438-7492
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.200800261

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This is the first report on a thermoformable bionanocomposite based on a natural nanocrystal and formed by grafting long polymer chains onto the surface of microcrystalline cellulose. For the cellulose nanocrystal__‐graft‐__poly(__ε‐__caprolactone), the “graft from” strategy contributed to long and dense “plasticizing” PCL tails onto the CN surface as the key of thermoforming. The grafted PCL chains shielded the hydrophilic surface of CN and, hence, showed high water‐resistance. Moreover, a strategy for developing new bionanocomposite materials based on natural nanocrystals has been presented.

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