78
3 PVA/BC Bionancomposite Films with Particle Size Effect
simple solution casting method. Elastic moduli of NBCs and MBCs have been determined to be 84.5 ± 3.6 and 80.65 ± 2.1 GPa for the first time via a sophisticated AFM
technique. More homogeneous NBC dispersion is shown for PVA/NBC bionanocomposites especially at the low BC contents up to 3 wt%, as opposed to PVA/MBC
bionanocomposites despite a common issue of BC agglomeration at the high BC
content level of 10 wt%. Tensile moduli of both bionanocomposites are significantly
enhanced along with the decreases in both elongation at break and tensile toughness in a monotonic manner when the BC content increases from 0 to 10 wt%. The
highest strength improvement of bionanocomposites appears at 3 wt%, and such
bionanocomposites with the incorporation of NBCs yields a relatively high strengthincreasing level to those with the addition of MBCs, which can be ascribed to smaller
particle size and larger surface areas of NBCs in order to achieve more effective load
transfer from nanofillers to PVA matrices in PVA/BC bionanocomposites.
The addition of NBCs and MBCs within PVA matrices also reveals the increase of
T g values with higher thermal stability in bionanocomposite films. With the determination of superior mechanical and thermal properties of PVA/BC bionanocomposites,
it is anticipated that such fabricated advanced composite materials can be utilised
for more widespread applications with full biodegradability and biocompatibility.
Moreover, nanomechanical properties of PVA and PVA/BC bionanocomposite films
have also been investigated by PFQNM measurements. The elastic moduli of crystalline and amorphous phases in morphological structures vary from 24 ± 4.2 to
11.4 ± 3.1 GPa, respectively. Moreover, the crystalline and amorphous phase widths
have been detected to be 20–76 and 18–65 nm, respectively. With the incorporation
of BCs, the lamellae size decreases with increasing the number of lamellae stacks
per unit volume, which is particularly the case when incorporated with NBCs. This
is believed to be the major reason for the significant improvement of mechanical
properties of PVA/NBC bionanocomposites.
References
1. Zhu J, Jia J, Tjong SC (2014) Preparation, structure, and application of carbon
nanotubes/bamboo charcoal composite. In: Tjong SC (ed) Nanocrystalline materials: their
synthesis-structure-property relationships, 2nd edn. Elsevier, London, pp 1–25
2. Gray M, Johnson MG, Dragila MI, Kleber M (2014) Water uptake in biochars: the roles of
porosity and hydrophobicity. Biomass Bioenerg 61:196–205
3. Brockhoff SR, Christians NE, Killorn RJ, Horton R, Davis DD (2010) Physical and mineralnutrition properties of sand-based turfgrass root zones amended with biochar. Agron J
102(6):1627–1631
4. Ho MP, Lau KT, Wang H, Hui D (2015) Improvement on the properties of polylactic acid
(PLA) using bamboo charcoal particles. Compos Part B Eng 81:14–25
5. You Z, Li D (2014) Highly filled bamboo charcoal powder reinforced ultra-high molecular
weight polyethylene. Mater Lett 122:121–124
6. Wu KH, Ting TH, Wang GP, Yang CC, Tsai CW (2008) Synthesis and microwave electromagnetic characteristics of bamboo charcoal/polyaniline composites in 2–40 GHz. Synth Met
158(17–18):688–694
3 PVA/BC Bionancomposite Films with Particle Size Effect
simple solution casting method. Elastic moduli of NBCs and MBCs have been determined to be 84.5 ± 3.6 and 80.65 ± 2.1 GPa for the first time via a sophisticated AFM
technique. More homogeneous NBC dispersion is shown for PVA/NBC bionanocomposites especially at the low BC contents up to 3 wt%, as opposed to PVA/MBC
bionanocomposites despite a common issue of BC agglomeration at the high BC
content level of 10 wt%. Tensile moduli of both bionanocomposites are significantly
enhanced along with the decreases in both elongation at break and tensile toughness in a monotonic manner when the BC content increases from 0 to 10 wt%. The
highest strength improvement of bionanocomposites appears at 3 wt%, and such
bionanocomposites with the incorporation of NBCs yields a relatively high strengthincreasing level to those with the addition of MBCs, which can be ascribed to smaller
particle size and larger surface areas of NBCs in order to achieve more effective load
transfer from nanofillers to PVA matrices in PVA/BC bionanocomposites.
The addition of NBCs and MBCs within PVA matrices also reveals the increase of
T g values with higher thermal stability in bionanocomposite films. With the determination of superior mechanical and thermal properties of PVA/BC bionanocomposites,
it is anticipated that such fabricated advanced composite materials can be utilised
for more widespread applications with full biodegradability and biocompatibility.
Moreover, nanomechanical properties of PVA and PVA/BC bionanocomposite films
have also been investigated by PFQNM measurements. The elastic moduli of crystalline and amorphous phases in morphological structures vary from 24 ± 4.2 to
11.4 ± 3.1 GPa, respectively. Moreover, the crystalline and amorphous phase widths
have been detected to be 20–76 and 18–65 nm, respectively. With the incorporation
of BCs, the lamellae size decreases with increasing the number of lamellae stacks
per unit volume, which is particularly the case when incorporated with NBCs. This
is believed to be the major reason for the significant improvement of mechanical
properties of PVA/NBC bionanocomposites.
References
1. Zhu J, Jia J, Tjong SC (2014) Preparation, structure, and application of carbon
nanotubes/bamboo charcoal composite. In: Tjong SC (ed) Nanocrystalline materials: their
synthesis-structure-property relationships, 2nd edn. Elsevier, London, pp 1–25
2. Gray M, Johnson MG, Dragila MI, Kleber M (2014) Water uptake in biochars: the roles of
porosity and hydrophobicity. Biomass Bioenerg 61:196–205
3. Brockhoff SR, Christians NE, Killorn RJ, Horton R, Davis DD (2010) Physical and mineralnutrition properties of sand-based turfgrass root zones amended with biochar. Agron J
102(6):1627–1631
4. Ho MP, Lau KT, Wang H, Hui D (2015) Improvement on the properties of polylactic acid
(PLA) using bamboo charcoal particles. Compos Part B Eng 81:14–25
5. You Z, Li D (2014) Highly filled bamboo charcoal powder reinforced ultra-high molecular
weight polyethylene. Mater Lett 122:121–124
6. Wu KH, Ting TH, Wang GP, Yang CC, Tsai CW (2008) Synthesis and microwave electromagnetic characteristics of bamboo charcoal/polyaniline composites in 2–40 GHz. Synth Met
158(17–18):688–694