Preparation and Characterization of corn husk nanocellulose coating on electrospun polyamide 6

Abstract

At present, electrospinning technology is a versatile and simple method for generating nano-scale membranes, and it provides attractive solutions in solving environmental problems and many energy problems. However, such films generally have low mechanical properties which limit their use in industry. Nanocellulose with excellent mechanical properties, high specific surface area, and renewable nature is an ideal green reinforcing material. In this paper, the cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) coatings on electrospun polyamide 6 (PA6) were prepared via coating method and explored as potential high-performance reinforced materials. The extraction of CNC and the performance of the composite membranes were studied by calculating the yield, scanning electron microscopy, 3D imaging, mechanical testing, and thermogravimetric analysis. Results show that the yield of CNC is impacted by various factors among which acid concentration is the most important. The CNC/PA6 composite film shows lower porosity and higher surface roughness than the pure PA6 membrane. With the increase of CNC concentration, lower porosity and higher surface roughness are obtained. With CNC coatings, tensile strength and Young s modulus of PA6 increase dramatically, while the tensile strain decreases obviously. The Young s modulus of the composite film has been increased by 250%. The composite membranes reveal high mechanical strength and low porosity, which can be applied infiltration and packaging.

Keywords

• Corn husk fiber
• Cellulose nanocrystals
• Polyamide 6
• Characterization