Abstract
Nanocomposite fibrous membranes have been fabricated by electrospinning cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-loaded poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) ethanol mixtures. Incorporating CNC in PAA significantly reduced fiber diameters and improved fiber uniformity. The average diameters of the as-spun nanocomposite fibers were significantly reduced from 349nm to 162nm, 141nm, 90nm and 69nm at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% CNC loading (by weight of a constant 4% PAA solution), respectively. CNC was well dispersed in the fibers as isolated rods oriented along the fiber axis and as spheres in the PAA matrix. The Young modulus and stress of the PAA/CNC nanocomposite fibers were significantly improved with increasing CNC loadings by up to 35-fold and 16-fold, respectively. Heat-induced esterification between the CNC surface hydroxyls and PAA carboxyl groups produced covalent crosslinks at the CNC-PAA interfaces, rendering the nanocomposite fibrous membranes insoluble in water, more thermally stable and far more superior in tensile strength. With 20% CNC, the crosslinked nanocomposite fibrous membrane exhibited a very impressive 77-fold increase in modulus and 58-fold increase in stress.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 415604 |
Journal | Nanotechnology |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 41 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Bioengineering
- General Chemistry
- General Materials Science
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering