Nanocellulose Stabilized Pickering Emulsion Templating for Thermosetting AESO Nanocomposite Foams.

Peng Lu,Mengya Guo,Min Wu,Yang Yang

doi:10.3390/polym10101111

Peng Lu, Mengya Guo + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10101111

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Journal: Polymers	Publication Date: Oct 8, 2018
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Guangxi University

Abstract

Emulsion templating has emerged as an effective approach to prepare polymer-based foams. This study reports a thermosetting nanocomposite foam prepared by nanocellulose stabilized Pickering emulsion templating. The Pickering emulsion used as templates for the polymeric foams production was obtained by mechanically mixing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) water suspensions with the selected oil mixtures comprised of acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS), and benzoyl peroxide (BPO). The effects of the oil to water weight ratio (1:1 to 1:3) and the concentration of CNCs (1.0–3.0 wt %) on the stability of the emulsion were studied. Emulsions were characterized according to the emulsion stability index, droplet size, and droplet distribution. The emulsion prepared under the condition of oil to water ratio 1:1 and concentration of CNCs at 2.0 wt % showed good stability during the two-week storage period. Nanocomposite foams were formed by heating the Pickering emulsion at 90 °C for 60 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the foam has a microporous structure with a non-uniform cell size that varied from 0.3 to 380 μm. The CNCs stabilized Pickering emulsion provides a versatile approach to prepare innovative functional bio-based materials.

Highlights

A nanocomposite is a multiphase material consisting of two or more components, including a matrix and a discontinuous phase with at least one dimension on the nanoscale.Nanocomposites generally exhibit superior properties over their constituent materials and have a high potential for applications in various fields, including electronics, packaging, transportation, and pharmaceutical applications [1]
An acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO) thermosetting nanocomposite foam was prepared by nanocellulose
An AESO thermosetting nanocomposite foam was prepared by nanocellulose stabilized Pickering emulsion templating

Summary

Introduction

A nanocomposite is a multiphase material consisting of two or more components, including a matrix (continuous phase) and a discontinuous phase with at least one dimension on the nanoscale. Nanocomposites generally exhibit superior properties over their constituent materials and have a high potential for applications in various fields, including electronics, packaging, transportation, and pharmaceutical applications [1]. Nanocomposite foams with porous structures are of growing interest because of their distinct characteristics such as lightweight, high strength, and multifunctional properties [2]. Nanocomposite foams are commonly made of polymer matrices (i.e., polyurethane, polystyrene, polyolefin, or biopolymers) reinforced with nanomaterials (i.e., montmorillonite, nanocellulose, graphenes, or carbon nanotubes) accompanying a foaming process [2,3,4,5,6,7]. The direct utilization of blowing agents in the foaming process is not suitable for the preparation of thin film products, and the foam morphology is hard to control, it is suitable for large-scale productions.

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