Crystallinity and Mechanical Properties of Nylon66-Microcrystalline Cellulose Composites

Abstract

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) has drawn a great attention toward lightweight yet mechanically robust polymer composites for applications in various industrial fields. In this study, the nylon66-MCC composites were manufactured through extrusion and injection process to improve mechanical properties by inducing hydrogen bonds between the amide bond of nylon66 and the hydroxyl group of MCC. As the MCC content increased, the elongation at break and toughness were measured the highest at the 0.5 wt% of MCC measured by UTM and the tensile strength decreased. Impact strength which was also the highest at the 0.5 wt% of MCC was measured by IZOD impact strength test. The crystallization was analyzed by XRD. As a result, the mechanical properties of the composites were increased only by the addition of a small amount of light weight reinforcement agent.