Enhancing the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Cellulose Nanocomposites with Aluminum Nanoadditives

Abstract

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) is a common hydrophilic and biodegradable polymer that can form films. This study incorporated aluminum nanoadditives as an enhancement reagent into a HPMC matrix. Mechanical properties of nanocompoistes, including the tensile strength and the elastic modulus, were analyzed with a nano-tensile tester. The incorporation of additives in HPMC films significantly enhances their mechanical and film barrier properties. Evidence of bonding between the additive and matrix was observed by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer analysis. The additives occupy the spaces in the pores of the matrix, which increases the tendency of the pore to collapse and improves the chemical bonding between the base material and the additives. The incorporation of excess additives decreases the tensile strength due to ineffective collisions between the additives and the matrix. The wear test proves that the addition of nano-additives can improve the tribology performance of the HPMC composite while reducing the wear volume and the friction. Bonding between the nanoadditives and the matrix does not help release the nanoadditives into the wear interface as a third-body layer. The main reason to enhance the tribology performance is that the nanoadditives improve the load-capacity of the composite coating. This hybrid composite can be useful in many sustainability applications.