Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 12, 2026
Manufacturing of Three-dimensionally Microstructured Nanocomposites through Microfluidic Infiltration
Published on: March 12, 2014
Thermoset nanocomposites from waterborne bio-based epoxy resin and cellulose nanowhiskers
Guo-min Wu1, Di Liu2, Gui-feng Liu1
1Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Material of Jiangsu Province, Key and Open Laboratory on Forest Chemical Engineering, State Forestry Administration, National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Chemical Utilization, Nanjing 210042, China; Research Institute of New Technology, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 10091, China.
Abstract:
Thermoset nanocomposites were prepared from a waterborne terpene-maleic ester type epoxy resin (WTME) and cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs). The curing behaviors of WTME/CNWs nanocomposites were measured with rotational rheometer. The results show that the storage modulus (G') of WTME/CNWs nanocomposites increased with the increase of CNWs content. Observations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrate that the incorporation of CNWs in WTME matrix caused microphase separation and destroyed the compactness of the matrix. This effect leads to the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of WTME/CNWs nanocomposites slightly decrease with the increase of CNWs content, which were confirmed by both DSC and DMA tests. The mechanical properties of WTME/CNWs nanocomposites were investigated by tensile testing. The Yong's modulus (E) and tensile strength (σb) of the nanocomposites were significantly reinforced by the addition of CNWs. These results indicate that CNWs exhibit excellent reinforcement effect on WTME matrix, due to the formation and increase of interfacial interaction by hydrogen bonds between CNWs nano-filler and the WTME matrix.
