Naturally or artificially constructed nanocellulose architectures for epoxy composites: A review

Abstract

Abstract Applications of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy-based composites have been highly restricted due to their high cost in the manufacturing process. Cellulose, a cheap and abundant material from nature, shows excellent mechanical property and structural stability. It shows huge potentials in substituting carbon fiber/epoxy with cellulose/epoxy composites to fulfill the great demands for composites with good performance and a reasonable price. This paper first reviews works about the preparation and regulation of cellulose materials based on the very basic concepts of top-down and bottom-up. Then research about the interfacial regulation between cellulose and epoxy has been discussed in two broad classes of covalent and non-covalent modification. Finally, the enhancement effect of cellulose reinforcement has been discussed in two broad classes of dispersive reinforcement and continuous phase reinforcement. The latter can be further divided into three classes according to the dimension feature (1D, 2D, and 3D). The results show that the nanolization of cellulose is necessary for guaranteeing the strength of composites, while the formation of macroscopic and continuous structures can ensure Young’s modulus of composites.