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Thermomechanical and crystallization behavior of polylactide-based flax fiber biocomposites

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Abstract

In this work, the rheological, thermal and mechanical properties of melt-compounded flax fiber-reinforced polylactide composites were investigated. The effect of compounding on fiber length and diameter, and the relationship between fiber content and the crystallization behavior of the biocomposites, at various temperatures, were also examined. After melt-compounding, fiber bundles initially present were, to a large extent, broken into individual fibers and the fiber length was decreased by 75 %, while the aspect ratio was decreased by nearly 50 %. The crystallization half-time was found to decrease with increasing flax fiber content, and showed a minimum value at 105 °C for all systems. The elastic modulus was increased by 50 % in the presence of 20 wt% flax fibers. The addition of maleic anhydride-grafted polylactide had a positive effect on the mechanical properties of the biocomposite. This system is particularly interesting in the context of sustainable development as it is entirely based on renewable resources and biodegradable.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for funding. They also thank Gilles Ausias from Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Matériaux de Bretagne (LIMATB) for providing the flax fibers, and Cristina Kawano for her help with the optical microscopy measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering, Center for Applied Research on Polymers and Composites—CREPEC, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Andrea Arias & Marie-Claude Heuzey

  2. Chemical and Biotechnological Engineering Department, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Michel A. Huneault

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  1. Andrea Arias
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  2. Marie-Claude Heuzey
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  3. Michel A. Huneault
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Correspondence to Marie-Claude Heuzey.

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Arias, A., Heuzey, MC. & Huneault, M.A. Thermomechanical and crystallization behavior of polylactide-based flax fiber biocomposites. Cellulose 20, 439–452 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-012-9836-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-012-9836-8

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