Fabrication of bionanocomposites reinforced with hemp nanocellulose and evaluation of their mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties

Abstract

The present study aims to fabricate the epoxy-based bionanocomposites reinforced with hemp nanocellulose and the evaluation of their mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties. Nanocellulose from hemp fibres was isolated via the chemo-mechanical method and its bionanocomposites were prepared using the in situ polymerization method. Although many researchers have reported studies on the preparation and characterization of bionanocomposites however, studies on the mechanical, thermal, and dynamic mechanical properties of epoxy-based bionanocomposites reinforced with hemp nanocellulose are still unreported. The mechanical properties (i.e. tensile, flexural, hardness, and impact) and dynamic mechanical properties (i.e. glass transition temperature, damping behaviour, storage, and loss modulus) of the developed bionanocomposites were investigated. Further, the crystalline behaviour and thermal stability were also studied using the X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis techniques, respectively. The results revealed that an addition of nanocellulose considerably improved the mechanical, thermal, and viscoelastic properties of the bionanocomposites. As much as 52.17%, 48.17%, 89.08%, and 15.67% improvements in the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and hardness, respectively, for the 2 wt.% nanocellulose composites were found over the epoxy matrix.