The role of nanocrystalline cellulose on the microstructure of foamed bio-based polyurethane nanocomposites

ANDRÉS CORDERO; JAVIER AMALVY; ELENA FORTUNATI; JOSE KENNY; LEONEL MATIAS CHIACCHIARELLI

Conferencia; 6th International Conference on Science and Technology of Composite Materials; 2015

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), obtained from the sulphuric acid hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), was used to synthesize polyurethane foams (PUF) from a functionalized castor oil polyol. At a 0.5 wt. % of NCC, the apparent density changed considerably as a function of the formulation index and the geometry of the cells in addition to a change ofits anisotropy. SEM analysis corroborated that the incorporation of NCC caused a relevant change in the fracture surface of NCC reinforced PUF. Both the compressive strength (c) and elastic modulus (Ec) showed an increase after the NCC incorporation but to an extent dependent on the index of the formulation. Finally, the chemical structure, measured by means of FTIR of the PUF was modified by the incorporation of NCC by a change of the relative amount of urea, urethane and isocyanurate groups present on the microstructure.