Improved thermal insulation and compressive property of bimodal poly (lactic acid)/cellulose nanocomposite foams

Qian Ren; Wanwan Li; Shijie Cui; Wenyu Ma; Xiuyu Zhu; Minghui Wu; Long Wang; Wenge Zheng; Takeshi Semba; Masahiro Ohshima

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120419

Improved thermal insulation and compressive property of bimodal poly (lactic acid)/cellulose nanocomposite foams

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Feb 15:302:120419. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120419. Epub 2022 Nov 29.

Authors

Qian Ren¹, Wanwan Li², Shijie Cui², Wenyu Ma¹, Xiuyu Zhu², Minghui Wu³, Long Wang⁴, Wenge Zheng¹, Takeshi Semba⁵, Masahiro Ohshima⁶

Affiliations

¹ Ningbo Key Lab of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Ningbo Key Lab of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province 315211, China.
³ Ningbo Key Lab of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; Advanced Materials and Composites Department, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo 315000, China.
⁴ Ningbo Key Lab of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: wanglong@nimte.ac.cn.
⁵ Polymer Materials Laboratory, Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology and Culture, 91 Chudoji Awata-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Kyoto 6158510, Japan.

PMID: 36604081
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120419

Abstract

In this work, an innovative PLA/CNF nanocomposite foam with a bimodal cell structure is prepared by a simple one-step depressurization foaming process using only supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO₂) as the foaming agent. Only at a specific foaming temperature, PLA/CNF nanocomposites foam with a bimodal cell structure could be obtained. According to the different crystallization kinetics and nucleation efficiency of samples, it was inferred that the crystallization rate and phase interface would affect the cell structure. The prepared PLA/CNF nanocomposite foam with a bimodal cell structure had an expansion ratio as high as 20 times and thermal conductivity of 0.041 w m^-1 k^-1, which exhibited low density and excellent thermal-insulation property. Meanwhile, the PLA/CNF nanocomposite foam exhibited excellent compression performance due to the presence of CNFs, which showed promising application in packaging and construction materials.

Keywords: Cellulose nanofibers; Compressive property; Poly (lactic acid); Supercritical foaming; Thermal insulation.

MeSH terms

Cellulose* / chemistry
Lactic Acid
Nanocomposites* / chemistry
Polyesters / chemistry
Pressure

Substances

Cellulose
Polyesters
Lactic Acid