Shape memory polyurethane reinforced with nano cellulose fibers

NORMA ESTHER MARCOVICH; VASILI CONTOS; STEVE NUTT; MARÍA LUJÁN AUAD; MIRTA I. ARANGUREN

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Simposio; MACRO 2006 - World Polymer Congress; 2006

IUPAC

Shape memory polymers are capable of fixing a transient shape and recovering to their original shape after a series of thermomechanical treatments. However in some applications, SMPs may not generate enough recovery force to be viable. To increase the recovery force, reinforcements can by adding to the polymer matrix. In this work, a commercial segmented polyurethane with shape memory properties was reinforced with nano cellulose fibers. The mechanical and thermomechanical behavior of neat polyurethane and resulting composites was characterized through tensile and thermal cyclic tensile test. Tensile modulus and strength increased as cellulose fibers content increases. The cellulose nanocrystal composites displayed essentially the same shape memory properties as those corresponding to the neat polyurethane