Cellulose Reinforced Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites: a Critical Review
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Cellulose reinforced polymer composites and nanocomposites: a critical review Chuanwei Miao & Wadood Y. Hamad Cellulose ISSN 0969-0239 Cellulose DOI 10.1007/s10570-013-0007-3 1 23 Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media Dordrecht. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self- archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com”. 1 23 Author's personal copy Cellulose DOI 10.1007/s10570-013-0007-3 REVIEW PAPER Cellulose reinforced polymer composites and nanocomposites: a critical review Chuanwei Miao • Wadood Y. Hamad Received: 10 December 2012 / Accepted: 22 July 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 Abstract This review provides a critical assessment composite contains a strong and stiff component, the of the use of cellulosic materials for reinforcement in reinforcement, embedded in a softer (relative to the polymer composites. The review focuses on structure– reinforcement) constituent, the matrix. In such a way, property interrelationships and the compatibilization of the composite has strength properties between those of cellulosic materials for optimal performance of the the reinforcement and the matrix (Fig. 1). resulting composite materials. Optimal material and Many natural materials are composites. For exam- physical properties are characterized on the basis of the ple, wood fibres consist of cellulose microfibrils reinforcement’s physical dimension and the nature of embedded in an amorphous matrix of lignin and the interface between reinforcement and matrix. We hemicellulose; bone and teeth are composed of explore how very different cellulosic materials—bacte- inorganic crystals in a matrix of collagen. Composites rial, microcrystalline, microfibrillated or nanocrystal- can be classified into 3 categories in terms of the type line—can cause distinctly different reinforcment. of matrix used: (1) polymer matrix composites (PMCs), (2) metal matrix composites (MMCs) and Keywords Cellulose Á Composites Á (3) ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). The majority Nanomaterials Á Polymer Á Renewable of artificial composites use thermosetting resins and polymers, like unsaturated polyester (Vilay et al. 2008), phenolic resin (Zarate et al. 2008), epoxy resin (Zhou et al. 2006) and rubber (Setua and De 1984), and Introduction thermoplastic polymers, such as poly(ethylene) (Lu et al. 2007), poly(propylene) (Rezaei et al. 2008), Composites are a class of materials that comprise poly(vinyl chloride) (Chazeau et al. 1999) and two or more distinct components with significantly poly(ethylene oxide) (Chen and Tsubokawa 2000). different physical and/or chemical properties. The Due to growing concerns over sustainability and resulting composite can have enhanced mechanical environmental protection, efforts have been made to performance (relative to that of the matrix), and/or new produce biodegradable polymer composites based on, functionalities (e.g., barrier performance). Usually, a for example, poly(lactic acid) (Bondeson and Oksman 2007a, b; Oksman et al. 2006), poly(hydroxybutyrate) (Singh et al. 2008), starch (Kvien et al. 2007; Angles & C. Miao Á W. Y. Hamad ( ) and Dufresne 2001), cellulose (Gindl and Keckes FPInnovations, 3800 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6S 2L9, Canada 2005; Nishino et al. 2004), and poly(hydroxyoctano- e-mail: [email protected] ate) (Dubief et al. 1999; Dufresne 2000). Composite 123 Author's personal copy Cellulose Reinforcements U.T.S. Composites Composites E Stress Stress Matrices εf Strain Strain Fig. 1 Schematic illustrations of the strength properties of failure; E = modulus of elasticity; toughness = the shadow reinforcement, matrices and composites (on the left) and the area under stress–strain curve (includes both elastic and plastic physical properties obtained from a stress–strain curve (on the contributions) right). Here, UTS = ultimate tensile strength; ef = strain at materials can use the characteristics of the reinforce- reinforcement (hundreds m2/g of materials). Some ment and the matrix to achieve pronounced property examples of reinforcements are listed in Table 1. improvements, particularly, strength. A typical exam- The strength of polymer composites depends on 4 ple is glass-reinforced plastics (GRP), which are made factors: (1) the properties of the matrix; (2) the of fibreglass and a thermosetting plastic, most often properties of the reinforcement; (3) the reinforce- polyester. Glass fibers have high tensile strength, but ment–matrix compatibility and interaction; and (4) the no resistance to compression. On the other hand, the dispersion of the reinforcement in the matrix for short plastic resin, polyester, is strong under compressive fiber- or particle-reinforced systems. In classical loading and relatively weak in tensile strength. GRP composites, interfacial interactions are required to has superior properties in both compressive and tensile bond them together. The most common interactions strengths. Compared to steel, GRP has good strength, are van der Waals forces, while others include: light weight and resistance to chemicals, and it is thus electrostatic attractions, chemical bonds, molecular widely used in aircraft, automobiles, boats, storage entanglement and mechanical interlocking. Process- tanks, construction, piping, etc. Compared to polymer ing conditions play an important role in determining matrix composites, strength improvements in metal the composite properties. Two different examples are matrix composites via the introduction of reinforce- offered. (1) Freshly drawn glass fibers have high ments are not typically the objective, rather other strength, whereas the strength decreases if the fibers physical improvements, such as high-temperature are exposed to humid air when water is adsorbed onto performance and tribological properties are often of the fibers, or the fiber surfaces become damaged due to interest. With regard to ceramic matrix composites, rubbing action during processing. To minimize this the primary goal of the reinforcement is to improve the type of influence, glass fibers are usually sized using toughness of the matrix ceramic, which is otherwise an emulsified aqueous polymer solution (Hull and brittle. Clyne 1996). (2) The processing temperature of Reinforcements in composites can be classified lignocellulosic materials is restricted to about structurally as: woven, continuous fibres, short fibres 200 °C as these materials start to degrade near and particles, or, morphologically, as macroscopic, 230 °C, which limits the type of thermoplastics that microscopic or nanoscopic based on their physical can be used in composites manufacture (Hamad 2002). size. Conventional composites use macroscopic cloth, This review summarizes advances in the use of or fibers, or microscopic short fibres as the reinforce- cellulosic reinforcements in polymer composites and ments. The reinforcement in a nanocomposite has at nanocomposites. The interest to use cellulosic mate- least one dimension in the nanometer range, usually rials as load bearing constituents in composite mate- less than 100 nm. The addition of the nano-reinforce- rials is increasing because they are inexpensive, ments can improve the properties of composites recyclable, a renewable resource, and have high because of the high specific surface area of the strength-to-weight ratio. 123 Author's personal copy Cellulose Table 1 Examples of common types of reinforcement (Hull and Clyne 1996; Samir et al. 2004c; Fedullo et al. 2007; Kashiwagi et al. 2004; Njuguna et al. 2007) Types d (lm) L (lm) Examples Monofilaments (large-diameter single fibers) 100–150 ? SiC, boron Multifilaments (tows or woven rovings with 7–30 ? Carbon, glass, aramid fibres, up to 14,000 fibers per strand) FPTM alumina Short fibers (staple fibers aggregated into 1–10 50–5,000 SaffilTM, KaowoolTM, FiberfaxTM blankets, tapes, wools, etc.) Micro-whiskers (fine single crystals in 0.1–1 5–100 SiC, Al2O3 loose aggregates) Micro-particulate (powders) 5–20 5–20 SiC, Al2O3,B4C, microcrystalline cellulose Nano-reinforcements (fibers, whiskers, 0.002–0.1 0.1–2 (fibers and whiskers) Silicate clays, carbon nanotubes, platelets, particles) \0.1 (particles) cellulose nanocrystals Cellulose fiber reinforced composites plant cellulose fibers is 128 GPa (Page et al. 1971) Cellulose is the most abundant natural organic com- 2. High sound damping performance due to the pound, comprising at least one-third of the vegetable hollow structure of fibers; matter in the world. It is a polysaccharide containing a 3. Low density; and linear chain with hundreds to thousands of b-1,4 linked 4. A relatively reactive surface, which can be used D-glucose units (Fig. 2). Due to the presence of multiple for surface modification. hydroxyl groups on cellulose, numerous hydrogen However, composites reinforced with natural fibers bonds are formed between the hydrogen and oxygen are not widely used in industrial applications mainly molecules, intra- and inter-molecularly. As such, cellu-