Fabrication and Characterization of Cellulosic Nanofiber Reinforced Composites

Environment-friendly “green” nanocomposites were fabricated from a starch-based, dispersion-type biodegradable resin and cellulose nanofibers. The mixture of the dispersion-type biodegradable resin and cellulose nanofibers were blended well by using a mixer and/or a stirrer. Composites were prepared by conventional hot pressing at a constant temperature of 140oC and at pressures from 10 to 50 MPa. Their flexural strength as well as flexural modulus increased with increasing the molding pressure, and were also affected by fabrication processes. It can be seen that their mechanical properties such as strength and modulus had a good correlation with their sample density. It should be noted that there exists significant effectiveness in the stirrer mixing process, which results in the uniform dispersion of cellulose nanofibers.