抄録
This study examines the tensile and impact fracture properties of polypropylene (PP) composites containing cellulose nanofibers (CNF). Two types of CNF with different lengths were used to assess the effect of fiber length of CNF on tensile and impact fracture properties. CNF have a length of 10 μm or more and a diameter of 20 nm. We developed a dry powder CNF with a moisture content of 3wt% or less. Dry powder CNF can be highly dispersed in the thermoplastic polymer such as PP resins by twin-screw extruder. Using twin-screw extruder operating at 130rpm and 200°C, CNF/PP composites were prepared by melt-kneading. The dry powder CNF in PP resin are easily dispersed by melt-kneading using twin-screw extruder. The failure strain of 0.1wt%CNF-s/PP, 0.5wt%CNF-s/PP and 0.1wt%CNF-L/PP composites were increased as compared with neat PP resin. Moreover, the izod impact strength of CNF-s/PP and CNF-L/PP composites were increased as compared with neat PP resin. It is clear that addition of CNF improves the toughness of PP resin at low CNF content.