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Characterization of lignocellulosic–poly(lactic acid) reinforced composites
Author(s) -
Hou Q. X.,
Chai X. S.,
Yang R.,
Elder T.,
Ragauskas A. J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.22236
Subject(s) - ultimate tensile strength , lactic acid , composite material , materials science , pulp (tooth) , kraft process , kraft paper , izod impact strength test , lignin , loblolly pine , characterization (materials science) , hot pressing , chemistry , pinus <genus> , organic chemistry , medicine , genetics , botany , pathology , bacteria , biology , nanotechnology
The effects of adding poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to the physical strength of paper test sheets prepared from three unbleached loblolly pine kraft pulps with different amounts of lignin and an aspen bleached chemothermomechanical pulp were studied. The physical strength studies demonstrated that relatively low levels of PLA addition (0.5–4.0%) could dramatically improve the tensile and burst strength properties as a function of the amount of PLA added. Hot pressing the test sheets was shown to be an important treatment for enhancing the strength properties. An analysis of untreated and PLA‐treated hot‐pressed test sheets by atomic force microscopy indicated that the addition of PLA markedly altered the surface properties of the sheets. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1346–1349, 2006