Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of Polystyrene Composites Reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystals

IF 5.1 1区化学 Q1 POLYMER SCIENCE

Macromolecules Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.4c03221

Hiroaki NOBUOKA, Reina TANAKA, Osamu URAKAWA, Tadashi INOUE

引用次数: 0

Abstract

We investigated the reinforcement mechanisms of cellulose nanocrystals, CNCs, in polymer matrices by incorporating them into polystyrene, a widely used simple amorphous resin that lacks specific interactions, such as hydrogen bonding. Rheological measurements revealed that the addition of CNC induced significant reinforcement effects in the complex moduli, particularly in the rubbery state. These effects are best described using the modified Morse theory, which accounts for the molecular dynamics of semiflexible polymers in a viscoelastic medium, rather than the classical Halpin–Tsai theory traditionally applied to straight rods. Dynamic birefringence measurements, specifically the frequency dependence of the strain-induced birefringence under oscillatory deformation, provided detailed insights into the contributions of various components to viscoelastic relaxation in the composite materials. The analyses indicated that the reinforcement effects were primarily driven by the tension mode of CNCs, originating from their undulated structure caused by thermal motion.

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来源期刊

Macromolecules 工程技术-高分子科学

CiteScore

9.30

自引率

16.40%

发文量

942

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Macromolecules publishes original, fundamental, and impactful research on all aspects of polymer science. Topics of interest include synthesis (e.g., controlled polymerizations, polymerization catalysis, post polymerization modification, new monomer structures and polymer architectures, and polymerization mechanisms/kinetics analysis); phase behavior, thermodynamics, dynamic, and ordering/disordering phenomena (e.g., self-assembly, gelation, crystallization, solution/melt/solid-state characteristics); structure and properties (e.g., mechanical and rheological properties, surface/interfacial characteristics, electronic and transport properties); new state of the art characterization (e.g., spectroscopy, scattering, microscopy, rheology), simulation (e.g., Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, multi-scale/coarse-grained modeling), and theoretical methods. Renewable/sustainable polymers, polymer networks, responsive polymers, electro-, magneto- and opto-active macromolecules, inorganic polymers, charge-transporting polymers (ion-containing, semiconducting, and conducting), nanostructured polymers, and polymer composites are also of interest. Typical papers published in Macromolecules showcase important and innovative concepts, experimental methods/observations, and theoretical/computational approaches that demonstrate a fundamental advance in the understanding of polymers.