TY - JOUR
T1 - Fabrication of flax fibre-reinforced cellulose propionate thermoplastic composites
AU - Woigk, W.
AU - Fuentes, C. A.
AU - Rion, J.
AU - Hegemann, D.
AU - van Vuure, A. W.
AU - Kramer, E.
AU - Dransfeld, C.
AU - Masania, K.
PY - 2019/10/20
Y1 - 2019/10/20
N2 - Natural materials such as wood exhibit high mechanical properties through cellulose structured at multiple length scales and embedded in a matrix of similar chemical structure. These hierarchical materials have inspired the design of lightweight composites composed of naturally occurring polymers. However, the close proximity of melt and decomposition temperature remain a challenge. In this work, cellulose propionate (CP) is modified to reduce its glass transition temperature and melt viscosity, allowing its use as a matrix in a natural fibre-reinforced composite. Through better impregnation, the modified CP matrix composites showed an increase in stiffness and strength of ∼10% and 20%, respectively, in comparison to unmodified CP matrix composites. The impact properties also increased by up to 28%, showing that modified CP is a credible matrix for realising sustainable all-cellulose natural fibre composites with high stiffness, strength and toughness.
AB - Natural materials such as wood exhibit high mechanical properties through cellulose structured at multiple length scales and embedded in a matrix of similar chemical structure. These hierarchical materials have inspired the design of lightweight composites composed of naturally occurring polymers. However, the close proximity of melt and decomposition temperature remain a challenge. In this work, cellulose propionate (CP) is modified to reduce its glass transition temperature and melt viscosity, allowing its use as a matrix in a natural fibre-reinforced composite. Through better impregnation, the modified CP matrix composites showed an increase in stiffness and strength of ∼10% and 20%, respectively, in comparison to unmodified CP matrix composites. The impact properties also increased by up to 28%, showing that modified CP is a credible matrix for realising sustainable all-cellulose natural fibre composites with high stiffness, strength and toughness.
KW - Cellulose propionate
KW - High toughness
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Natural fibre composite
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072278796&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2019.107791
DO - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2019.107791
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85072278796
SN - 0266-3538
VL - 183
JO - Composites Science and Technology
JF - Composites Science and Technology
M1 - 107791
ER -