Publications
131 results found
Mautner A, Nawawi WMFW, Lee K-Y, et al., 2020, High porosity cellulose nanopapers as reinforcement in multi-layer epoxy laminates, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol: 131, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 1359-835X
Utilizing high-performance cellulose nanopapers as 2D-reinforcement for polymers allows for realizing high-loading-fraction (80 vol-%), high-performance (strength > 150 MPa, modulus > 10 GPa) laminated nanopaper reinforced epoxy composites. Such cellulose nanopapers are inherently dense, which renders them difficult to be impregnated with the epoxy-resin. High-porosity nanopapers facilitate better resin impregnation, truly utilizing the properties of single cellulose nanofibres instead of the nanofibre network. We report the use of high-porosity (74%) but low strength and modulus bacterial cellulose (BC) nanopapers, prepared from BC-in-ethanol dispersion, as reinforcement for epoxy-resin. High-porosity nanopapers allowed for full impregnation of the BC-nanopapers with epoxy-resin. The resulting BC-reinforced epoxy-laminates possessed high tensile modulus (9 GPa) and strength (100 MPa) at a BC loading of 30 vol-%, resulting from very low void-fraction (3 vol-%) of these papregs compared to conventional nanopaper-laminates (10+ vol.-%). Better resin impregnation of less dense nanocellulose networks allowed for maximum utilization of stiffness/strength of cellulose nanofibrils.
Sulley GS, Gregory GL, Chen TTD, et al., 2020, Switchable catalysis improves the properties of CO2-derived polymers: poly(cyclohexene carbonate-b-epsilon-decalactone-b-cyclohexene carbonate) adhesives, elastomers, and toughened plastics, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol: 142, Pages: 4367-4378, ISSN: 0002-7863
Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization is an efficient way to add value to waste CO2 and to reduce pollution in polymer manufacturing. Using this process to make low molar mass polycarbonate polyols is a commercially relevant route to new thermosets and polyurethanes. In contrast, high molar mass polycarbonates, produced from CO2, generally under-deliver in terms of properties, and one of the most widely investigated, poly(cyclohexene carbonate), is limited by its low elongation at break and high brittleness. Here, a new catalytic polymerization process is reported that selectively and efficiently yields degradable ABA-block polymers, incorporating 6–23 wt % CO2. The polymers are synthesized using a new, highly active organometallic heterodinuclear Zn(II)/Mg(II) catalyst applied in a one-pot procedure together with biobased ε-decalactone, cyclohexene oxide, and carbon dioxide to make a series of poly(cyclohexene carbonate-b-decalactone-b-cyclohexene carbonate) [PCHC-PDL-PCHC]. The process is highly selective (CO2 selectivity >99% of theoretical value), allows for high monomer conversions (>90%), and yields polymers with predictable compositions, molar mass (from 38–71 kg mol–1), and forms dihydroxyl telechelic chains. These new materials improve upon the properties of poly(cyclohexene carbonate) and, specifically, they show good thermal stability (Td,5 ∼ 280 °C), high toughness (112 MJ m–3), and very high elongation at break (>900%). Materials properties are improved by precisely controlling both the quantity and location of carbon dioxide in the polymer chain. Preliminary studies show that polymers are stable in aqueous environments at room temperature over months, but they are rapidly degraded upon gentle heating in an acidic environment (60 °C, toluene, p-toluene sulfonic acid). The process is likely generally applicable to many other lactones, lactides, anhydrides, epoxides, and heterocumulenes and sets the s
Santmarti A, Zhang H, Lappalainen T, et al., 2020, Cellulose nanocomposites reinforced with bacterial cellulose sheets prepared from pristine and disintegrated pellicle, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol: 130, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 1359-835X
BC sheets can be prepared in two forms: direct press-drying of the as-synthesised BC pellicle or disintegrating the BC pellicle to create a homogenous BC-in-water suspension prior to producing the BC sheet. We found that BC sheet prepared from direct press-drying of pristine pellicle was more homogeneous due to its better BC network formation and possessed higher specific surface area (46 g m−2), better resin impregnation and mechanical properties compared to its disintegrated pellicle counterpart (21 g m−2). BC-poly(acrylated epoxidised soybean oil) (polyAESO) nanocomposites consisting of BC sheet prepared from pristine pellicle was optically transparent whilst BC-polyAEO nanocomposites consisting of BC sheet prepared from disintegrated pellicle was opaque. Whilst the tensile properties of BC-polyAESO nanocomposites from pristine pellicle were higher, the fracture toughness of BC-polyAESO composite consisting of BC sheet from disintegrated pellicle was better. The lack of resin impregnation in BC-polyAESO from disintegrated pellicle led to a laminated structure, which utilised the fracture toughness of BC sheet effectively.
Nawawi WMFBW, Jones M, Murphy RJ, et al., 2020, Nanomaterials derived from fungal sources-is It the new hype?, Biomacromolecules, Vol: 21, Pages: 30-55, ISSN: 1525-7797
Greener alternatives to synthetic polymers are constantly being investigated and sought after. Chitin is a natural polysaccharide that gives structural support to crustacean shells, insect exoskeletons, and fungal cell walls. Like cellulose, chitin resides in nanosized structural elements that can be isolated as nanofibers and nanocrystals by various top-down approaches, targeted at disintegrating the native construct. Chitin has, however, been largely overshadowed by cellulose when discussing the materials aspects of the nanosized components. This Perspective presents a thorough overview of chitin-related materials research with an analytical focus on nanocomposites and nanopapers. The red line running through the text emphasizes the use of fungal chitin that represents several advantages over the more popular crustacean sources, particularly in terms of nanofiber isolation from the native matrix. In addition, many β-glucans are preserved in chitin upon its isolation from the fungal matrix, enabling new horizons for various engineering solutions.
Jiang Q, Lee K, Bismarck A, 2020, Foam templating: A greener route to porous polymers, ACS Symposium Series, Pages: 99-118
A simple kitchen mixer and skills to whip cream can be useful to manufacture highly functional polymer foams with control over their structures. In the 1930s, researchers began to whip or inject gas into monomers or polymer suspensions to produce liquid foams, which served as templates to be solidified to polymer foams. Besides the “simplicity” of the foam templating method, its actual advantage as compared to widely used blown polymer foams is the nonessential need of physical and chemical blowing agents, resulting in a lower raw material cost, less involved chemistry, lower safety and health risk during production and a reduced impact on the environment. Compared to other templating methods, such as emulsion templating, which require sacrificial materials serving as templates, liquid foams with bubbles as templates are superior from a material processing perspective because they require no further materials or energy for template removal. A challenging step in foam templating is to create a stable liquid foam containing building blocks for subsequent solidification; when using air as an internal phase, the choice of materials in the liquid phase to create a stable colloidal system is restricted. In this chapter, we review previous work on foam templating with a focus on porous materials produced therefrom, including macroporous thermoplastic, thermosetting polymers, hydrogels, biobased materials and polymer composites. We aim to show that foam templating is a greener than any other templating methods, such as emulsion templating and particulate leaching, and versatile foaming process and to encourage researchers to conduct both fundamental and applied research to push the boundaries of this technology further.
Song W, Konstantellos G, Li D, et al., 2019, Short carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy foams with isotropic cellular structure and anisotropic mechanical response produced from liquid foam templates, Composites Science and Technology, Vol: 184, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 0266-3538
In this work, we show that mechanically anisotropic short carbon fibre (sCF)-reinforced epoxy foams with an isotropic cellular structure can be fabricated from liquid foam templates. Short carbon fibres were mechanically frothed in an uncured liquid epoxy resin to produce an air-in-resin liquid foam template, followed by subsequent polymerisation. Fracture toughness test showed that the incorporation of short carbon fibres into the epoxy foams led to a significant increase in their critical stress intensity factors. It was also observed that neat epoxy foams failed catastrophically whilst sCF-reinforced epoxy foams failed in a progressive manner. Compression test further showed that the in-plane compressive moduli of the mechanically frothed sCF-reinforced epoxy foams were significantly higher than their out-of-plane compressive moduli, signifying an anisotropic mechanical response. This anisotropic mechanical response stemmed from the radial flow generated by the high intensity mechanical frothing process, facilitating the preferential orientation of the added short carbon fibres in-plane whilst the entrained air bubbles during the mechanical frothing process were in equilibrium with the surrounding uncured liquid epoxy resin, resulting in an epoxy foam with an isotropic (spherical) cellular structure.
Mishnaevsky L, Mikkelsen LP, Gaduan AN, et al., 2019, Nanocellulose reinforced polymer composites: Computational analysis of structure-mechanical properties relationships, Composite Structures, Vol: 224, ISSN: 0263-8223
Structure-mechanical properties relationships of nanocellulose reinforced polymer composites are studied in computational experiments. A code for the generation of 3D unit cell finite element models of nanocellulose reinforced polymers with “snake”-shaped nanocellulose fibrils is developed. The code allows the generation of pre-defined nanocomposites structures, with varied angles between nanocellulose snakes segments and hydrogen bonds between nanocellulose fibrils. In a series of computational studies, it is demonstrated that the nanocellulose reinforcement leads to higher stiffness of the matrix polymer, but makes it more brittle.
Suwan K, Waramit S, Przystal J, et al., 2019, Next-generation of targeted AAVP vectors for systemic transgene delivery against cancer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, Vol: 116, Pages: 18571-18577, ISSN: 0027-8424
Bacteriophage (phage) have attractive advantages as delivery sys-tems compared to mammalian viruses, but have been consideredpoor vectors because they lack evolved strategies to confrontand overcome mammalian cell barriers to infective agents. Wereasoned that improved efficacy of delivery might be achievedthrough structural modification of the viral capsid to avoid pre-and post-internalization barriers to mammalian cell transduction.We generated multifunctional hybrid AAV/phage (AAVP) particlesto enable simultaneous display of targeting ligands on the phage’sminor pIII proteins and also degradation-resistance motifs on thevery numerous pVIII coat proteins. This genetic strategy of directedevolution, bestows a next-generation of AAVP particles that fea-ture resistance to fibrinogen adsorption or neutralizing antibodies,and ability to escape endolysosomal degradation. This results insuperior gene transfer efficacyin vitroand also in preclinicalmouse models of rodent and human solid tumors. Thus, the uniquefunctions of our next-generation AAVP particles enable improvedtargeted gene delivery to tumor cells.
Karim Z, Svedberg A, Lee K-Y, et al., 2019, Processing-atructure-property correlation understanding of microfibrillated cellulose based dimensional structures for ferric ions removal, Scientific Reports, Vol: 9, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 2045-2322
In this research article, wood based microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) was studied to gain a better understanding of the process of dependent network formation. Networking potential and obtained properties of the produced dimensional structures could be controlled using opted processing routes. The fabricated dimensional structure, using freeze-drying (FD) is a highly open and porous network (98% porosity) compared to slightly tight, dense and less porous network produced after pressing at 200kN (96% porosity), followed by vacuum-filtered (VF) networks (33% porosity). The porosity (17%) was further decreased when the casting (CS) method was used, further producing a highly dense and compressed network. High water flux (180.8 ± 11 L/m2h) of pressed freeze-dried (PFD) followed by vacuum-filtered (VF) (11.4 ± 1.9 L/m2h) and casting CS (0.7 ± 0.01 L/m2h) were calculated using device. Furthermore, increased water flux (1.4 fold) of Experimental Paper Machine (XPM) based structures was reported in comparison with CS structures. Pore-sized distribution and surface area were measured using Hg porosimetry; they showed an average pore size of 16.5 μm for FD, followed by PFD (8.2 μm) structures. A 27-fold decrease in average pore-size was observed for CS structure in comparison with the FD structures. Highest tensile strength (87 ± 21 MPa) was recorded for CS structures, indicating a more highly compacted network formation compared to VF (82 ± 19 MPa) and PFD (1.6 ± 0.06 MPa). Furthermore, an attempt was made to upscale the VF structures using traditional paper making approach on XMP. Improved tensile strength (73 ± 11 MPa) in machine produced structures is due to alignment of fibers towards machine direction compared to cross directional (43 ± 9 MPa)
Dieckmann E, Eleftheriou K, Audic T, et al., 2019, New sustainable materials from waste feathers: Properties of hot-pressed feather/cotton/bi-component fibre boards, Sustainable Materials and Technologies, Vol: 20, ISSN: 2214-9937
Feathers from poultry are an abundant, globally available waste. The current beneficial reuse for feathers involves autoclaving them to produce feather meal, an animal feed with low economic value. This paper reports on the production and performance of new feather-derived materials. These have potential to provide a higher value application for waste feathers. Feather fibres, cotton fibres and polyethylene/polypropylene bi-component fibres (blended 55:20:25 by weight) have been air-laid to form 20 mm thick non-woven pre-forms with a density of 0.14 g cm −2 . These were then hot pressed to produce materials with significantly higher density and improved properties. Optimum materials were formed by hot pressing between 150 and 160 °C at 6 MPa for 1 min. Lower temperatures resulted in poor fibre bonding and fibre pull-out during fracture. Higher temperatures caused thermal degradation of the feather fibres. The optimum feather fibre boards with a density of 0.77 g/cm 3 , corresponding to 31.3% porosity, had tensile strengths of 17.9 MPa a tensile modulus of 1.74 GPa and an elongation at fracture of 5.9%. These samples exhibited fibre fracture during tensile testing. Feather fibre boards have similar tensile strength, density and Young's modulus to particleboard, organic resin particleboard and flake board. Quantitative estimates of the economic and environmental benefits from using feather fibres to form feather fibre boards are discussed. The research advances sustainability by providing a new potential circular economy outlet for waste feathers and is part of on-going research to develop novel applications that exploit the unique properties of feathers.
Santmarti A, Teh JW, Lee K-Y, 2019, Transparent poly(methyl methacrylate) composites based on bacterial cellulose nanofibre networks with improved fracture resistance and impact strength, ACS Omega, Vol: 4, Pages: 9896-9903, ISSN: 2470-1343
Cellulose nanofibers are often explored as biobased reinforcement for the production of high-performance composite materials. In this work, we fabricated transparent poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites consisting of two-dimensional and three-dimensional bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofiber networks. Three different composite designs consisting of 1 vol % BC loading were fabricated and studied: (i) composites with a three-dimensional BC nanofiber network embedded uniformly throughout the PMMA matrix; (ii) sandwich-structured construction consisting of three-dimensional BC–PMMA sandwiched between two neat PMMA sheets; and (iii) dried and well-consolidated two-dimensional BC nanofiber network embedded in a PMMA matrix. All fabricated model BC–PMMA composites were found to be optically transparent, but PMMA composites consisting of the two-dimensional BC nanofiber network possessed higher light transmittance (73% @550 nm) compared to the three-dimensional BC nanofiber network counterparts (63% @550 nm). This is due to the higher specific surface area of the three-dimensional BC nanofiber network, which led to more light scattering. Nevertheless, it was found that both two-dimensional and three-dimensional BC nanofiber networks serve as excellent stiffening agents for PMMA matrix, improving the tensile modulus of the resulting composites by up to 30%. However, no improvement in tensile strength was observed. The use of three-dimensional BC nanofiber network led to matrix embrittlement, reducing the tensile strain-at-failure, fracture resistance, and Charpy impact strength of the resulting BC–PMMA composites. When the BC nanofiber network was used as two-dimensional reinforcement, cracks were observed to propagate through the debonding of BC nanofiber network, leading to higher fracture toughness and Charpy impact strength. These novel findings could open up further opportunities in the design of novel optically transparent polymeric composite lami
Fazli Wan Nawawi WM, Lee KY, Kontturi E, et al., 2019, Chitin nanopaper from mushroom extract: natural composite of nanofibers and glucan from a single biobased source, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, Vol: 7, Pages: 6492-6496, ISSN: 2168-0485
An isolation method with mild mechanical agitation and no acidic extraction step from a mushroom substrate resulted in chitin nanofibers (ChNFs) with large shares of retained glucans (50-65%). The subsequent chitin nanopapers exhibited exceptionally high tensile strengths of >200 MPa and moduli of ca. 7 GPa, which were largely attributed to the preserved glucans in the mixture, imparting a composite nature to the nanopapers. The isolation method for ChNFs is notably different from the conventional process with crustacean chitin sources that do not incorporate glucans and where an acidic extraction step for the removal of minerals must always be included.
Mayer F, Mautner A, Lee K-Y, et al., 2019, Hybridization of nanocelluloses for improved nanopaper properties, National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Kontturi E, Lee K-Y, Bismarck A, 2019, Nanocellulose: What can go wrong?, National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Kondor A, Mautner A, Lee K-Y, et al., 2019, Challenges on specific surface area analysis of cellulosic materials, National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Lee K-Y, Murakami R, Bismarck A, 2019, Cellulose fibril emulsifiers: Interesting and versatile, National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS), Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Mohammed C, Mahabir S, Mohammed K, et al., 2019, Calcium Alginate Thin Films Derived from Sargassum natans for the Selective Adsorption of Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+ Ions, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol: 58, Pages: 1417-1425, ISSN: 0888-5885
The Caribbean has seen the influx of Sargassum, affecting the livelihood of communities. Sodium alginate extracted from Sargassum is known for its cross-linking properties, making the seaweed attractive as an adsorbent. Hence, the use of calcium alginate thin films can decrease the mass transfer resistance found in commonly used alginate beads, resulting in increased adsorption efficiency. This Article discusses the potential of calcium alginate thin films for Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ ion adsorption. Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ adsorption fitted the Langmuir isotherm well with capacities of 0.80, 0.10, and 0.02 mmol of metal/g, respectively, for Sargassum. Kinetic studies showed that the ions followed the pseudo-second-order model, elucidating that ion exchange governed adsorption. Furthermore, NMR characterization showed that G-block monomers influenced kinetic parameters and selectivity in the following order: Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Cd2+
Chen G, Lee K-Y, Bismarck A, et al., 2019, Cellulose materials and methods of making and using same, US10,988,897
Song W, Tagarielli VL, Lee KY, 2018, Enhancing the fracture resistance and impact toughness of mechanically frothed epoxy foams with hollow elastomeric microspheres, Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, Vol: 303, ISSN: 1438-7492
Nonporous elastomeric particles are often employed to improve the toughness of brittle epoxy foams but this also decreases their compressive strength and stiffness. Herein, a novel strategy utilizing hollow elastomeric microspheres as toughening agent for epoxy foams is presented. The addition of 0.5 wt.% hollow elastomeric microspheres into epoxy foam leads to a 15% increase in critical stress intensity factor (K1c) to 0.38 MPa m0.5and 33% increase in Charpy impact strength (acU) to 1.05 kJ m−2, respectively, compared to unfilled epoxy foam (K1c = 0.33 MPa m0.5and acU= 0.79 kJ m−2). However, a further increase in the hollow elastomeric microsphere concentration to 1.0 wt.% leads to microsphere agglomeration, which reduces both K1cand acUto 0.35 MPa m0.5and 0.93 kJ m−2, respectively. Nevertheless, the added hollow elastomeric microspheres do not lead to a reduction in the quasi-static compressive properties of the epoxy foams.
Hervy M, Bock F, Lee KY, 2018, Thinner and better: (Ultra-)low grammage bacterial cellulose nanopaper-reinforced polylactide composite laminates, Composites Science and Technology, Vol: 167, Pages: 126-133, ISSN: 0266-3538
One of the rate-limiting steps in the large-scale production of cellulose nanopaper-reinforced polymer composites is the time consuming dewatering step to produce the reinforcing cellulose nanopapers. In this work, we show that the dewatering time of bacterial cellulose (BC)-in-water suspension can be reduced by reducing the grammage of BC nanopaper to be produced. The influence of BC nanopaper grammage on the tensile properties of BC nanopaper-reinforced polylactide (PLLA) composites is also investigated in this work. BC nanopaper with grammages of 5, 10, 25 and 50 g m−2 were produced and it was found that reducing the grammage of BC nanopaper from 50 g m−2 to 5 g m−2 led to a three-fold reduction in the dewatering time of BC-in-water suspension. The porosity of the BC nanopapers, however, increased with decreasing BC nanopaper grammage. While the tensile properties of BC nanopapers were found to decrease with decreasing BC nanopaper grammage, no significant difference in the reinforcing ability of BC nanopaper with different grammages for PLLA was observed. All PLLA composite laminates reinforced with BC nanopapers possessed similar tensile modulus of 10.5–11.8 GPa and tensile strength of 95–111 MPa, respectively, at a BC loading fraction = 39–53 vol.-%, independent of the grammage and tensile properties of the reinforcing BC nanopaper.
Mohammed A, Bissoon R, Bajnath E, et al., 2018, Multistage extraction and purification of waste Sargassum natans to produce sodium alginate: an optimization approach, Carbohydrate Polymers, Vol: 198, Pages: 109-118, ISSN: 0144-8617
Sargassum in the Caribbean region has affected the livelihood of several coastal communities due to the influx of large quantities of the seaweed in recent times. This article seeks to explore how waste Sargassum natans can be utilized to produce sodium alginate. The novelty in this research lies in the optimization process, whereby multistage extraction and precipitation were investigated over commonly used single stage processing, in an effort to maximize both yield and purity. The results showed that a maximum yield of 19% was observed after 1 stage, while the purity was 74% after 4 stages. In addition, optimization of the multistage precipitation process using the Global Optimization Toolbox in MATLAB R2017b provided a novel model which indicated that a compromise between the maximum purity and yield can be obtained at 3 stages; 71–74% and 12–16% respectively. Furthermore, characterization was done using FTIR and NMR, with results comparable to a commercial sodium alginate brand, giving absorption bands at 1610 cm−1and 1395 cm-1and an M/G ratio of 0.51 respectively.
Narducci F, Lee K, Pinho ST, 2018, Realising damage-tolerant nacre-inspired CFRP, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol: 116, Pages: 391-402, ISSN: 0022-5096
Inthiswork,anacre-inspiredCarbonFibreReinforcedPolymer(CFRP)compositeis designed,synthesisedandtested. Analyticalandnumericalmodelsareusedtodesign a tiled micro-structure, mimicking the staggered arrangement of ceramic platelets in nacreandexploitinggeometricalinterlocksforcrackdeflectionanddamagediffusion. The designed pattern of tiles is then laser-engraved in the laminate plies. In order to increase the damage-spreading capability of the material, a thin layer of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is film-cast on the interlaminar region, both as a continuous film and as a pattern of fractal-shaped patches. Three-point bending tests show how the nacre-like micro-structure succeeds in deflecting cracks, with damage diffusion being significantly improved by the addition of PLA at the interface between tiles. It is observed that a texture of discontinuous fractal-shaped PLA patches can increase damage diffusion, by promoting the unlocking of tiles whilst preserving the interface strength.
Hervy M, Blaker JJ, Braz AL, et al., 2018, Mechanical response of multi-layer bacterial cellulose nanopaper reinforced polylactide laminated composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol: 107, Pages: 155-163, ISSN: 1359-835X
In this study, we investigated the mechanical response of polylactide (PLLA) reinforced with multiple layers of BC nanopaper. Laminated composites consisting of 1, 3, 6 and 12 sheet(s) of BC nanopaper were produced. It was observed that increasing the number of BC nanopaper led to an increase in the porosity of the resulting BC nanopaper-reinforced PLLA laminated composites. The tensile moduli of the laminated composites were found to be ∼12.5 – 13.5 GPa, insensitive to the number of sheets of BC nanopaper in the composites. However, the tensile strength of the laminated composites decreased by 21% (from 121 MPa to 95 MPa) when the number of reinforcing BC nanopaper sheets increased from 1 to 12 sheets. This was attributed to the presence and severity of the scale-induced defects increased with increasing BC nanopaper sheets in the PLLA laminated composites.
Santmarti A, Hervy M, Mautner A, et al., 2018, Highly porous and highly permeable bacterial cellulose nanopaper as reinforcement for polymers, 255th National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS) - Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water, Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Mautner A, Lee K-Y, Kontturi E, et al., 2018, Included? Not included! (Nano)Cellulose inclusion compounds, 255th National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS) - Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water, Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Mautner A, Lee K-Y, Bismarck A, 2018, Nanopaper nanofiltration membranes from seawater suspensions of TEMPO-CNF, 255th National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS) - Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water, Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC, ISSN: 0065-7727
Narducci F, Lee KY, Pinho ST, 2018, Interface micro-texturing for interlaminar toughness tailoring: a film-casting technique, Composites Science and Technology, Vol: 156, Pages: 203-214, ISSN: 0266-3538
In this work, we developed a film-casting technique to deposit thin (13 μm) layers of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) on the interface of carbon/epoxy prepregs, with the aim of increasing the interlaminar toughness. PLA patches with fractal shape were explored, based on preliminary results showing that the toughening effect increases when PLA is deposited at multiple scales simultaneously. Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) and 4-point End-Notched Flexure (4ENF) tests showed an increase in interlaminar toughness of, respectively, up to 80% for Mode I and 12% for Mode II. This is specially remarkable because the interface thickness is only 13 μm. Moreover, it was demonstrated that this technique can promote interaction between neighbouring layers where PLA has been cast, thus triggering fibre bridging and leading to a further enhancement of toughness.
Santmarti A, Lee K, 2018, Crystallinity and Thermal Stability of Nanocellulose, Nanocellulose and Sustainability Production, Properties, Applications, and Case Studies, Editors: Lee, Publisher: Taylor and Francis / CRC Press, Pages: 67-86, ISBN: 9781498761031
Lee K-Y, 2018, Nanocellulose and Sustainability: Production, Properties, Applications, and Case Studies, Publisher: CRC Press/Taylor Francis, ISBN: 9781498761031
Mautner A, Mayer F, Hervy M, et al., 2017, Better together: synergy in nanocellulose blends, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol: 376, ISSN: 1364-503X
Cellulose nanopapers have gained significantattention in recent years as large-scale reinforcementfor high-loading cellulose nanocomposites, substratesfor printed electronics and filter nanopapers forwater treatment. The mechanical properties ofnanopapers are of fundamental importance forall these applications. Cellulose nanopapers cansimply be prepared by filtering a suspension ofnanocellulose, followed by heat consolidation. It wasalready demonstrated that the mechanical propertiesof cellulose nanopapers can be tailored by the finenessof the fibrils used or by modifying nanocellulosefibrils for instance by polymer adsorption, butnanocellulose blends remain underexplored. In thiswork, we show that the mechanical and physicalproperties of cellulose nanopapers can be tuned bycreating nanopapers from blends of various gradesof nanocellulose, i.e. (mechanically refined) bacterialcellulose or cellulose nanofibrils extracted fromnever-dried bleached softwood pulp by chemical andmechanical pre-treatments. We found that nanopapersmade from blends of two or three nanocellulosegrades show synergistic effects resulting in improvedstiffness, strength, ductility, toughness and physicalproperties.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue‘New horizons for cellulose nanotechnology’.
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