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Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of composites of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) with wheat straw microcrystalline cellulose

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Abstract

Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of the compostable composites comprising a biodegradable aliphatic–aromatic copolyester (namely, the poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate; PBAT), and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) derived from agricultural waste, the wheat stalk, were investigated. Purely physical interaction between the components was found to be responsible to get the MCC phase quite uniformly embedded in the PBAT matrix, the latter being the dominating component of the composites surface. There were two distinct thermally activated degradation regimes characterized by separate activation processes corresponding to the decomposition of the MCC and the PBAT phases, respectively. The physically bound and rather weak but large PBAT–MCC interfacial areas provoked more rapid thermal degradation of the composites compared to the pure components. While the PBAT acted as a highly ductile material upon tensile loading, the composites maintained high ductility only up to 20% by weight of the MCC. The drastic reduction in the ductility for higher filler loading was attributed to the possible void formation at the interfacial region followed by crack initiation and propagation leading eventually to the premature specimen fracture. The composite materials thus fabricated were hence found to suit for low-load bearing applications.

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Acknowledgements

JG sincerely acknowledges the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) for providing PhD research grants. She further thanks German Research Foundation (DFG) and foundation “Akademie Mitteldeutsche Kunststoffinnovationen” (AMK) for offering financial supports for research stays in Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University (TU), Kathmandu, Nepal

    Jyoti Giri & Rameshwar Adhikari

  2. Department of Chemistry, Tri-Chandra Campus, TU, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Jyoti Giri

  3. Nepal Polymer Institute (NPI), Kathmandu, Nepal

    Jyoti Giri & Rameshwar Adhikari

  4. Polymer Service GmbH Merseburg (PSM), Merseburg, Germany

    Ralf Lach, Wolfgang Grellmann & Hans-Joachim Radusch

  5. Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Hai Hong Le

  6. Laboratoire Sciences Et Méthodes Séparatives (SMS), Groupe Nutriset, Faculté Des Sciences and Onyx Development, Université de Normandie Rouen, Rouen, France

    Jean-Marc Saiter

  7. Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS), Halle, Saale, Germany

    Sven Henning

  8. Research Centre of Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), TU, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Rameshwar Adhikari

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  1. Jyoti Giri
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Giri, J., Lach, R., Le, H.H. et al. Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of composites of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) with wheat straw microcrystalline cellulose. Polym. Bull. 78, 4779–4795 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-020-03339-5

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