Abstract
Polylactic acid (PLA)/cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) composite nanofibers were successfully produced by electrospinning mixed PLA solutions with CNWs. Observation by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms the uniform distribution of CNWs within the PLA nanofibers along the direction of the fiber axis. The spectra of composite nanofibers based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) reveal characteristic hydroxyl groups as evidenced by absorption peaks of CNWs. The addition of hydrophilic CNWs is proven to improve the water absorption ability of PLA nanofibers. The initial cold crystallization temperature decreases with the increasing CNW content, implying the nucleating agent role of CNWs as effective nanofillers. The degree of crystallinity increases from 6.0% for as-electrospun pure PLA nanofibers to 14.1% and 21.6% for PLA/5CNWs and PLA/10CNWs composite nanofibers, respectively. The incorporation of CNWs into PLA is expected to offer novel functionalities to electrospun composite nanofibers in the fields of tissue engineering and membranes.
Highlights
Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer on Earth
Polymer composites reinforced with cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) have become quite attractive due to their excellent properties [1]
The sizes of CNWs are dependent on the source of raw materials and their production methods
Summary
Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer on Earth. Recently, researchers have shown a growing interest in nanocellulose research due to its numerous advantages, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and unique chemical and reactive surface properties. Polymer composites reinforced with cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) have become quite attractive due to their excellent properties [1]. The nanofibrous mats show particular characteristics such as large surface-area-to-volume ratio and high porosity with small pore size, and have a variety of applications for filtration, sensors, electrode materials, drug delivery, cosmetics, and tissue scaffolding [2,3]. Electrospun nanofibrous mat is not stiff enough and is sometimes difficult to handle. The incorporation of stiff nanoreinforcements, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanoclays, and CNWs with high aspect ratio, has been regarded as an effective approach to enhance the mechanical, electrical, and magnetic properties of electrospun fibers [4,5,6,7,8,9]
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