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Ayan Chakraborty, Mohin Sain, Mark Kortschot

Reinforcing potential of wood pulp-derived microfibres in a PVA matrix

Keywords: aspect ratio, cellulose crystallinity, microfibre, reinforcement

In this study, the reinforcing potential of cellulose “microfibres” obtained from bleached softwood kraft pulp was demonstrated in a matrix of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Microfibres are defined as fibres of cellulose of 0.1–1 ?m in diameter, with a corresponding minimum length of 5–50 ?m. Films cast with these microfibres in PVA showed a doubling of tensile strength and a 2.5-fold increase in stiffness with 5% microfibre loading. The theoretical stiffness of a microfibre was calculated as 69 GPa. The study also demonstrated that the strength of the composite was greater at 5% microfibre loading compared to 10% loading. Comparative studies with microcrystalline cellulose showed that the minimum aspect ratio of the reinforcing agent is more criticalthan its crystallinity in providing reinforcement in the composite.

Holzforschung, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 0018-3830
Volume: 60, 01/2006
Pages: 53 - 58

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