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Polymers
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Polymer Composites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Production, Properties, and Application
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Polymer Composites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Production, Properties, and Application

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 9178

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Oleg V. Surov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
G.A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Science, Ivanovo, Russia
Interests: cellulose nanocrystals; polymer composites; structure-properties relationships; intermolecular interactions; thermodynamics; crystal engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cellulose is one of most available renewable natural resources with an annual production rate of more than 75 billion tons. As a cheap biopolymer, cellulose plays an important role in the production of ecologically pure biocompatible and biodegradable functional materials. Rod-like particles of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) can be isolated from cellulose fibers under acid or enzymatic hydrolysis conditions. Dimensions of these particles range from 100 to 1000 nm in length and from 5 to 50 nm in diameter depending on hydrolysis conditions and the raw material used. At present, CNCs attract attention from material scientists not only due to their availability and ecological compatibility but also because of their unique combination of physical and chemical properties: nontoxicity and biocompatibility, biodegradability, large specific surface area, and high modulus of elasticity. The application of CNCs as fillers in polymers allows materials to gain new qualities such as improving their mechanical, optical and sorption properties, electrical performance, and controlling humidity. The application of biodegradable polymers and polymeric composite materials attracts increasing attention due to environmental protection issues that have arisen. Currently, a tendency to use natural organic nanofillers is caused by their advantages compared to conventional inorganic fillers: biodegradability and nontoxicity. The use of CNCs as nano- dimensional elements for reinforcement of polymeric matrices is of interest due to unique combination of required physical and chemical properties and environmental benefits.

Dr. Oleg V. Surov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • cellulose nanocrystals
  • polymer composites
  • morphology
  • chemical, mechanical, electrical and optical properties
  • structure–property relationship.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 13265 KiB  
Article
Properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/Polycaprolactone Polymer Mixtures Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Experimental and Simulation Studies
by Marina I. Voronova, Darya L. Gurina and Oleg V. Surov
Polymers 2022, 14(2), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14020340 - 16 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2417
Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/polycaprolactone (PHBV/PCL) polymer mixtures reinforced by cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have been obtained. To improve the CNC compatibility with the hydrophobic PHBV/PCL matrix, the CNC surface was modified by amphiphilic polymers, i.e., polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylamide (PAM). The polymer composites were characterized [...] Read more.
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/polycaprolactone (PHBV/PCL) polymer mixtures reinforced by cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have been obtained. To improve the CNC compatibility with the hydrophobic PHBV/PCL matrix, the CNC surface was modified by amphiphilic polymers, i.e., polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylamide (PAM). The polymer composites were characterized by FTIR, DSC, TG, XRD, microscopy, BET surface area, and tensile testing. The morphological, sorption, thermal, and mechanical properties of the obtained composites have been studied. It was found out that with an increase in the CNC content in the composites, the porosity of the films increased, which was reflected in an increase in their specific surface areas and water sorption. An analysis of the IR spectra confirms that hydrogen bonds can be formed between the CNC hydroxyl- and the –CO– groups of PCL and PHBV. The thermal decomposition of CNC in the PHBV/PCL/CNC composites starts at a much higher temperature than the decomposition of pure CNC. It was revealed that CNCs can either induce crystallization and the polymer crystallite growth or act as a compatibilizer of a mixture of the polymers causing their amorphization. The CNC addition significantly reduces the elongation and strength of the composites, but changes Young’s modulus insignificantly, i.e., the mechanical properties of the composites are retained under conditions of small linear deformations. A molecular-dynamics simulation of several systems, starting from simplest binary (solvent-polymer) and finishing with multi-component (CNC—polymer mixture—solvent) systems, has been made. It is concluded that the surface modification of CNCs with amphiphilic polymers makes it possible to obtain the CNC composites with hydrophobic polymer matrices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Production, Properties, and Application)
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28 pages, 8299 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Zn–Organic Frameworks Containing Chitosan as a Low-Cost Inhibitor for Sulfuric-Acid-Induced Steel Corrosion: Practical and Computational Exploration
by Mohamed Gouda, Mai M. Khalaf, Kamal Shalabi, Mohammed A. Al-Omair and Hany M. Abd El-Lateef
Polymers 2022, 14(2), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14020228 - 6 Jan 2022
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2382
Abstract
In this work, a Zn–benzenetricarboxylic acid (Zn@H3BTC) organic framework coated with a dispersed layer of chitosan (CH/Zn@H3BTC) was synthesized using a solvothermal approach. The synthesized CH/Zn@H3BTC was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning [...] Read more.
In this work, a Zn–benzenetricarboxylic acid (Zn@H3BTC) organic framework coated with a dispersed layer of chitosan (CH/Zn@H3BTC) was synthesized using a solvothermal approach. The synthesized CH/Zn@H3BTC was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area. The microscopic observation and the analysis of the BET surface area of CH/Zn@H3BTC nanocomposites indicated that chitosan plays an important role in controlling the surface morphology and surface properties of the Zn@H3BTC. The obtained findings showed that the surface area and particle size diameter were in the range of 80 m2 g−1 and 800 nm, respectively. The corrosion protection characteristics of the CH/Zn@H3BTC composite in comparison to pristine chitosan on duplex steel in 2.0 M H2SO4 medium determined by electrochemical (E vs. time, PDP, and EIS) approaches exhibited that the entire charge transfer resistance of the chitosan- and CH/Zn@H3BTC-composite-protected films on the duplex steel substrate was comparatively large, at 252.4 and 364.8 Ω cm2 with protection capacities of 94.1% and 97.8%, respectively, in comparison to the unprotected metal surface (Rp = 20.6 Ω cm2), indicating the films efficiently protected the metal from corrosion. After dipping the uninhabited and protected systems, the surface topographies of the duplex steel were inspected by FESEM. We found the adsorption of the CH/Zn@H3BTC composite on the metal interface obeys the model of the Langmuir isotherm. The CH/Zn@H3BTC composite revealed outstanding adsorption on the metal interface as established by MD simulations and DFT calculations. Consequently, we found that the designed CH/Zn@H3BTC composite shows potential as an applicant inhibitor for steel protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Production, Properties, and Application)
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24 pages, 6290 KiB  
Article
Sandwich-Structured, Hydrophobic, Nanocellulose-Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol as an Alternative Straw Material
by Chun-Tu Chou, Shih-Chen Shi and Chih-Kuang Chen
Polymers 2021, 13(24), 4447; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13244447 - 18 Dec 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3698
Abstract
An environmentally friendly, hydrophobic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film was developed as an alternative to commercial straws for mitigating the issue of plastic waste. Nontoxic and biodegradable cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and nanofibers (CNFs) were used to prepare PVA nanocomposite films by blade coating and [...] Read more.
An environmentally friendly, hydrophobic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film was developed as an alternative to commercial straws for mitigating the issue of plastic waste. Nontoxic and biodegradable cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and nanofibers (CNFs) were used to prepare PVA nanocomposite films by blade coating and solution casting. Double-sided solution casting of polyethylene-glycol–poly(lactic acid) (PEG–PLA) + neat PLA hydrophobic films was performed, which was followed by heat treatment at different temperatures and durations to hydrophobize the PVA composite films. The hydrophobic characteristics of the prepared composite films and a commercial straw were compared. The PVA nanocomposite films exhibited enhanced water vapor barrier and thermal properties owing to the hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces between the substrate and the fillers. In the sandwich-structured PVA-based hydrophobic composite films, the crystallinity of PLA was increased by adjusting the temperature and duration of heat treatment, which significantly improved their contact angle and water vapor barrier. Finally, the initial contact angle and contact duration (at the contact angle of 20°) increased by 35% and 40%, respectively, which was a significant increase in the service life of the biodegradable material-based straw. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystals: Production, Properties, and Application)
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