Design and modify the wood cellulose fiber reinforced high density polyethylene nanocomposite with its structurally interconnection investigation

Abstract

The development of cellulose derivatives for advancing green polymer composites is a promising research area. In this study, we present a simple yet effective method for large-scale production of non-carbonized, chemically modified wood cellulose-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites, with good mechanical and thermal behaviors. This approach employs alkali bleaching treatment followed by sulfuric acid hydrolysis, without the residuals such as lignin, hemicellulose, etc. The hydroxyl (-OH) groups are detected in the wood cellulose which can be functionalized to surface of HDPE, providing flame-retardant properties. While, the mechanism of hydrogen bonding between the wood cellulose fibers (WCF) and polyethylene molecular chains is developed. Additionally, the incorporation of WCF significantly influenced the pyrolysis gas generation, with Thermo-Gravimetry-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (TG-IR) to analysis the pyrosis product with its infrared fingerprint and interconnection bonding. At an optimized loading of 3 % WCF, the composite achieved a maximum tensile strength of 12.01 MPa and an elastic modulus of 178.24 MPa, reflecting improvements of 33.6 % and 35.8 %, respectively. Also, a 38 % reduction in smoke emissions is reached. This study provides a new strategy for the development of low-cost and environmentally friendly biomass-based composites, which solves the dual problems of unsustainable and insufficient performance of traditional fillers, and has a broad application prospect in the fields of packaging and flame retardant construction.