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Castor oil‐based polyurethanes containing cellulose nanocrystals
Author(s) -
Wik V.M.,
Aranguren M.I.,
Mosiewicki M.A.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.21939
Subject(s) - materials science , castor oil , nanocellulose , composite material , nanocomposite , polyurethane , cellulose , rheology , ultimate tensile strength , composite number , dispersion (optics) , polyol , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
Partially foamed and nanocellulose‐reinforced polyurethanes (PU) based on castor oil (CO) were prepared and their different properties were measured and related to their structures. A castor oil‐based polyol (COPO) was obtained by alcoholysis of CO with triethanolamine. The COPO was used in the preparation of partially foamed and solid PU. Cellulose nanofibrils (NC) in the range of the rheological percolation content were incorporated to the materials and the final mechanical properties of these nanocomposites were analyzed. The incorporated NC considerably affected the rheology of the suspensions, which presented solid‐like behavior under frequency sweep tests with the addition of only 0.5 wt% of NC. By increasing the NC concentration the dispersion becomes increasingly difficult. The properties of the solid PU were also affected by the incorporation of NC and a significant increase of the tensile modulus was observed for the 0.5 wt% NC composite, compared to the unfilled solid PU. This behavior was associated to the incorporation of the rigid particle reinforcement and the interfacial bonding. As expected, the partially foamed PU showed lower modulus than the corresponding solid PU. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers