The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites
Recently, biocomposites have emerged as materials of great interest to the scientists and industry around the globe. Among various polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) is a popular matrix material with high potential for advanced applications. Various particulate materials and nanoparticles have been use...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/1/149 |
| _version_ | 1797542845013295104 |
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| author | Karol Leluk Stanisław Frąckowiak Joanna Ludwiczak Tomasz Rydzkowski Vijay Kumar Thakur |
| author_facet | Karol Leluk Stanisław Frąckowiak Joanna Ludwiczak Tomasz Rydzkowski Vijay Kumar Thakur |
| author_sort | Karol Leluk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recently, biocomposites have emerged as materials of great interest to the scientists and industry around the globe. Among various polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) is a popular matrix material with high potential for advanced applications. Various particulate materials and nanoparticles have been used as the filler in PLA based matrix. One of the extensively studied filler is cellulose. However, cellulose fibres, due to their hydrophilic nature, are difficult to blend with a hydrophobic polymer matrix. This leads to agglomeration and creates voids, reducing the mechanical strength of the resulting composite. Moreover, the role of the various forms of pure cellulose and its particle shape factors has not been analyzed in most of the current literature. Therefore, in this work, materials of various shapes and shape factors were selected as fillers for the production of polymer composites using Polylactic acid as a matrix to fill this knowledge gap. In particular, pure cellulose fibres (three types with different elongation coefficient) and two mineral nanocomponents: precipitated calcium carbonate and montmorillonite were used. The composites were prepared by a melt blending process using two different levels of fillers: 5% and 30%. Then, the analysis of their thermomechanical and physico-chemical properties was carried out. The obtained results were presented graphically and discussed in terms of their shape and degree of filling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d61b4cdb4b7a43a694de45bad0556fe3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:36:15Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-d61b4cdb4b7a43a694de45bad0556fe32023-11-21T07:29:56ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492020-12-0126114910.3390/molecules26010149The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer CompositesKarol Leluk0Stanisław Frąckowiak1Joanna Ludwiczak2Tomasz Rydzkowski3Vijay Kumar Thakur4Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Koszalin University of Technology, Raclawicka 15-17, 75-620 Koszalin, PolandBiorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UKRecently, biocomposites have emerged as materials of great interest to the scientists and industry around the globe. Among various polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) is a popular matrix material with high potential for advanced applications. Various particulate materials and nanoparticles have been used as the filler in PLA based matrix. One of the extensively studied filler is cellulose. However, cellulose fibres, due to their hydrophilic nature, are difficult to blend with a hydrophobic polymer matrix. This leads to agglomeration and creates voids, reducing the mechanical strength of the resulting composite. Moreover, the role of the various forms of pure cellulose and its particle shape factors has not been analyzed in most of the current literature. Therefore, in this work, materials of various shapes and shape factors were selected as fillers for the production of polymer composites using Polylactic acid as a matrix to fill this knowledge gap. In particular, pure cellulose fibres (three types with different elongation coefficient) and two mineral nanocomponents: precipitated calcium carbonate and montmorillonite were used. The composites were prepared by a melt blending process using two different levels of fillers: 5% and 30%. Then, the analysis of their thermomechanical and physico-chemical properties was carried out. The obtained results were presented graphically and discussed in terms of their shape and degree of filling.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/1/149polylactic acid compositescalcium carbonatemontmorillonitecellulose fibres |
| spellingShingle | Karol Leluk Stanisław Frąckowiak Joanna Ludwiczak Tomasz Rydzkowski Vijay Kumar Thakur The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites Molecules polylactic acid composites calcium carbonate montmorillonite cellulose fibres |
| title | The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites |
| title_full | The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites |
| title_short | The Impact of Filler Geometry on Polylactic Acid-Based Sustainable Polymer Composites |
| title_sort | impact of filler geometry on polylactic acid based sustainable polymer composites |
| topic | polylactic acid composites calcium carbonate montmorillonite cellulose fibres |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/1/149 |
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