Abstract
The favorable mechanical properties and performance of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TOCNF) films has been limited by their brittleness and the incapability of obtaining thick enough materials for self-supported applications. In this study, lamination with room temperature curable epoxy was used to combat brittleness, increase thickness, and produce a more damage tolerant material. The effect of the volume fraction and layer thickness of both phases (e.g., TOCNF, epoxy), the number of layers, and the overall total thickness of the laminate, on the tensile and flexural properties are investigated. Lamination was successful at increasing the toughness and thickness of TOCNF composites, resulting in an increased work of fracture that was associated with fracture retardation by crack digression in three-point bending specimens. The ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus were higher for laminates with low volume fractions of epoxy although not statistically different than the neat TOCNF films, but decreased with increasing volume fraction of epoxy, and with increasing number of TOCNF layers.
Graphic abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benítez AJ, Torres-Rendon J, Poutanen M, Walther A (2013) Humidity and multiscale structure govern mechanical properties and deformation modes in films of native cellulose nanofibrils. Biomacromol 14:4497–4506. https://doi.org/10.1021/bm401451m
Caminero MA, Rodríguez GP, Chacón JM, García-Moreno I (2019) Tensile and flexural damage response of symmetric angle-ply carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates: non-linear response and effects of thickness and ply-stacking sequence. Polym Compos 40:3678–3690. https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.25230
Cepeda-Jiménez CM, Pozuelo M, García-Infanta JM et al (2008a) Influence of the alumina thickness at the interfaces on the fracture mechanisms of aluminium multilayer composites. Mater Sci Eng A 496:133–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2008.05.015
Cepeda-Jiménez CM, Pozuelo M, Ruano OA, Carreño F (2008b) Influence of the thermomechanical processing on the fracture mechanisms of high strength aluminium/pure aluminium multilayer laminate materials. Mater Sci Eng A 490:319–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2008.01.034
Chellappa V, Jang BZ (1996) Crack growth and fracture behavior of fabric reinforced polymer composites. Polym Compos 17:443–450. https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.10632
Clegg WJ, Kendall K, Alford NM et al (1990) A simple way to make tough ceramics. Nature 347:455
Cook J, Gordon JE, Evans CC, Marsh DM (1964) A mechanism for the control of crack propagation in all-brittle systems. Proc R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 282:508–520. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1964.0248
Elkington M, Bloom D, Ward C et al (2015) Hand layup: understanding the manual process. Adv Manuf Polym Compos Sci 1:138–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/20550340.2015.1114801
Feng QL, Cui FZ, Pu G et al (2000) Crystal orientation, toughening mechanisms and a mimic of nacre. Mater Sci Eng C 11:19–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0928-4931(00)00138-7
Fratzl P, Gupta HS, Fischer FD, Kolednik O (2007) Hindered crack propagation in materials with periodically varying Young’s Modulus—lessons from biological materials. Adv Mater 19:2657–2661. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200602394
Fujisawa S, Okita Y, Fukuzumi H et al (2011) Preparation and characterization of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril films with free carboxyl groups. Carbohydr Polym 84:579–583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2010.12.029
Fukuzumi H, Saito T, Isogai A (2013) Influence of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril length on film properties. Carbohydr Polym 93:172–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2012.04.069
Gupta V, Yuan J, Martinez D (1993) Calculation, measurement, and control of interface strength in composites. J Am Ceram Soc 76:305–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1993.tb03784.x
Herakovich CT (1981) On the relationship between engineering properties and delamination of composite materials. J Compos Mater 15:336–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/002199838101500404
Hervy M, Santmarti A, Lahtinen P et al (2017) Sample geometry dependency on the measured tensile properties of cellulose nanopapers. Mater Des 121:421–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2017.02.081
Huang LJ, Geng L, Peng H-X (2015) Microstructurally inhomogeneous composites: is a homogeneous reinforcement distribution optimal? Prog Mater Sci 71:93–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2015.01.002
Isogai A, Saito T, Fukuzumi H (2011) TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers. Nanoscale 3:71–85. https://doi.org/10.1039/C0NR00583E
Iwamoto S, Nakagaito AN, Yano H (2007) Nano-fibrillation of pulp fibers for the processing of transparent nanocomposites. Appl Phys A 89:461–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-007-4175-6
Johan Foster E, Moon RJ, Agarwal U et al (2018) Current characterization methods for cellulose nanomaterials. Chem Soc Rev 47:2609–2679. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6CS00895J
Kant T, Swaminathan K (2000) Estimation of transverse/interlaminar stresses in laminated composites—a selective review and survey of current developments. Compos Struct 49:65–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-8223(99)00126-9
Kaw AK (2005) Mechanics of composite materials, 2nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 2
Kendall K (1975) Transition between cohesive and interfacial failure in a laminate. Proc R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 344:287–302. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1975.0102
Kolednik O, Predan J, Fischer FD, Fratzl P (2011) Bioinspired design criteria for damage-resistant materials with periodically varying microstructure. Adv Func Mater 21:3634–3641. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201100443
Kurihara T, Isogai A (2014) Properties of poly(acrylamide)/TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril composite films. Cellulose 21:291–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-013-0124-z
Lee W, Howard SJ, Clegg WJ (1996) Growth of interface defects and its effect on crack deflection and toughening criteria. Acta Mater 44:3905–3922. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-6454(96)00068-7
Lee D-B, Ikeda T, Miyazaki N, Choi N-S (2004) Effect of bond thickness on the fracture toughness of adhesive joints. J Eng Mater Technol 126:14–18. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1631433
Liu JC (2014) Mechanical performance of cellulose multilayer laminate and cellulose nanocrystal nanocomposite. Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette
Manterola J, Cabello M, Zurbitu J et al (2019) Effect of the width-to-thickness ratio on the mode I fracture toughness of flexible bonded joints. Eng Fract Mech 218:106584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2019.106584
Moon RJ, Martini A, Nairn J et al (2011) Cellulose nanomaterials review: structure, properties and nanocomposites. Chem Soc Rev 40:3941–3994. https://doi.org/10.1039/C0CS00108B
Phillipps AJ, Clegg WJ, Clyne TW (1994) The failure of layered ceramics in bending and tension. Composites 25:524–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-4361(94)90180-5
Renier R, Rudie A (2013) Pilot plant scale-up of tempo-pretreated cellulose nanofibrils. In: Production and applications of cellulose nanomaterials, chapter 2.1. TAPPI Press, pp 177–178
Saito T, Hirota M, Tamura N et al (2009) Individualization of nano-sized plant cellulose fibrils by direct surface carboxylation using tempo catalyst under neutral conditions. Biomacromol 10:1992–1996. https://doi.org/10.1021/bm900414t
Shokrieh MM, Akbari RS (2012) Effect of residual shear stresses on released strains in isotopic and orthotropic materials measured by the slitting method. J Eng Mater Technol. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4005267
Stoll MM, Sessner V, Kramar M et al (2019) The effect of an elastomer interlayer thickness variation on the mechanical properties of fiber-metal-laminates. Compos Struct 219:90–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.03.042
Viet NV, Zaki W, Umer R (2018) Interlaminar shear stress function for adhesively bonded multi-layer metal laminates. Int J Adhes Adhes 82:14–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2017.12.011
Wang J, Cheng Q, Tang Z (2012) Layered nanocomposites inspired by the structure and mechanical properties of nacre. Chem Soc Rev 41:1111–1129. https://doi.org/10.1039/C1CS15106A
Wu X, Pan Y, Wu G et al (2017) Flexural behavior of CFRP/MG hybrid laminates with different layers thickness. Adv Compos Lett 26:096369351702600. https://doi.org/10.1177/096369351702600505
Yeon J, Song Y, Kim KK, Kang J (2019) Effects of epoxy adhesive layer thickness on bond strength of joints in concrete structures. Materials 12:2396. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12152396
Yokozeki T, Aoki Y, Ogasawara T (2008) Experimental characterization of strength and damage resistance properties of thin-ply carbon fiber/toughened epoxy laminates. Compos Struct 82:382–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2007.01.015
Zhao S, Zhang J, Zhao S et al (2003) Effect of inorganic–organic interface adhesion on mechanical properties of Al2O3/polymer laminate composites. Compos Sci Technol 63:1009–1014. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(02)00317-2
Zhao M, Ansari F, Takeuchi M et al (2017) Nematic structuring of transparent and multifunctional nanocellulose papers. Nanoscale Horiz 3:28–34. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7NH00104E
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Private–Public Partnership for Nanotechnology in the Forestry Sector (P3Nano) under Grant Number 109217.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares no competing financial interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Forti, E.S., Moon, R.J., Schueneman, G.T. et al. Transparent tempo oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TOCNF) composites with increased toughness and thickness by lamination. Cellulose 27, 4389–4405 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03107-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-020-03107-8