title: Synergistic effect of cellulose nanocrystals/graphene oxide nanosheets as functional hybrid nanofiller for enhancing properties of PVA nanocomposites.
abstract: Novel functional hybrid nanofillers composed of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and graphene oxide nanosheets (GON), at different weight ratios (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2), were successfully prepared and characterized, and their synergistic effect in enhancing the properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposites was investigated. Due to the synergistic reinforcement, it was found that the Young's modulus, tensile strength and toughness of the PVA nanocomposite containing 5 wt% hybrid nanofiller (1:2) were significantly improved by 320%, 124% and 159%, respectively; and the elongation at break basically remained compared to the neat PVA matrix. In addition, the glass and melting temperatures as well as the moisture sorption of nanocomposites were also enhanced. This synergistic effect improved the dispersion homogeneity by avoiding the agglomeration phenomenon of nanofillers within the polymer matrix, resulting in nanocomposites with largely enhanced properties compared to those prepared from single nanofiller (CNC or GON). The preparation of these hybrid nanofillers and their incorporation into a polymer provided a novel method for the development of novel multifunctional nanocomposites based on the combination of existing nanomaterials.
authors.affiliation: Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II-Casablanca, Casablanca 20650, Morocco; MAScIR Foundation-INANOTECH, Rabat Design, Rue Mohamed El Jazouli, Madinat Al Irfane, 10100 Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Nassima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: El Miri
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), Lot 660-Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150 Ben Guerir, Morocco. Electronic address: mounir.elachaby@um6p.ma.
authors.forename: Mounir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Achaby
authors.affiliation: MAScIR Foundation-INANOTECH, Rabat Design, Rue Mohamed El Jazouli, Madinat Al Irfane, 10100 Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fihri
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), Lot 660-Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150 Ben Guerir, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larzek
authors.affiliation: Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II-Casablanca, Casablanca 20650, Morocco.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zahouily
authors.affiliation: Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, University Cadi Ayyad, Avenue A. Khattabi, BP 549, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco.
authors.forename: Karima
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abdelouahdi
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR 1208 Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes (IATE), 2, place Pierre Viala, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France.
authors.forename: Abdellatif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barakat
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), Lot 660-Hay Moulay Rachid, 43150 Ben Guerir, Morocco. Electronic address: abderrahim.solhy@um6p.ma.
authors.forename: Abderrahim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solhy
keywords: Cellulose nanocrystals; Graphene oxide; Hybrid nanofiller; Mechanical properties; Nanocomposite; Synergistic reinforcement