title: Effective dispersion and crosslinking in PVA/cellulose fiber biocomposites via solid-state mechanochemistry.
abstract: A mechanochemical approach to improve the dispersion and the degree of crosslinking between cellulose fiber and polymer matrix is presented herein to create high performance poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/cellulose biocomposites in a solvent-free and catalyst-free system. During a pan-milling process, the hydrogen bonds in both cellulose and PVA were effectively broken up, and the released hydroxyl groups could react with succinic anhydride (SA) to form covalent bonds between the two components. This stress-induced chemical reaction was verified by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The reaction kinetics was discussed according to the conversion rate of SA during the pan-milling process. Soxhlet extraction with hot water showed that the crosslinked PVA/cellulose retained more PVA in the composites due to the homogeneous and heterogeneous crosslinking. Scanning electron microscope images indicated the dispersion and interfacial interactions between PVA and cellulose were largely improved. The resulting composites exhibited remarkably enhanced mechanical properties. The tensile strength increased from 8.8 MPa (without mechanochemical treatment) to 18.2 MPa, and elongation at break increased from 76.8 to 361.7% after the treatment. Their thermal stability was also significantly improved.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
authors.forename: Jiangqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. Electronic address: weizhang@scu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute at Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. Electronic address: canhuilu@263.net.
authors.forename: Canhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013718:Tensile Strength; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Biocomposites; Fiber-reinforced composites; Interface/interphase; Mechanical properties; Thermal properties