Effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) on thermal properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/CNC biocomposites

Abstract

In this research, the effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) on the thermal properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) / cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) biocomposite was investigated. The PVA/CNC biocomposite films were prepared by solvent casting method with different CNC content (3; 6; and 9 wt. %,). The prepared biocomposites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the thermal properties were studied using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). SEM showed the morphology of all samples where the difference among samples where the surface roughness of the samples was more at higher concentration of CNC. TGA results showed that the highest onset thermal degradation temperature was recorded at 254 °C for PVA/CNC 6 wt% compared to other samples. The value of char residue also increased up to 3.2% for PVA/CNC 9 wt% indicating the good thermal effect of CNC on PVA for the biocomposites heating-resistant properties. DSC results revealed that with the addition of CNC, all of the biocomposites peaks move to higher temperatures showing that CNC improves the thermal stability of the composites.