Abstract
BC sheets can be prepared in two forms: direct press-drying of the as-synthesised BC pellicle or disintegrating the BC pellicle to create a homogenous BC-in-water suspension prior to producing the BC sheet. We found that BC sheet prepared from direct press-drying of pristine pellicle was more homogeneous due to its better BC network formation and possessed higher specific surface area (46 g m−2), better resin impregnation and mechanical properties compared to its disintegrated pellicle counterpart (21 g m−2). BC-poly(acrylated epoxidised soybean oil) (polyAESO) nanocomposites consisting of BC sheet prepared from pristine pellicle was optically transparent whilst BC-polyAEO nanocomposites consisting of BC sheet prepared from disintegrated pellicle was opaque. Whilst the tensile properties of BC-polyAESO nanocomposites from pristine pellicle were higher, the fracture toughness of BC-polyAESO composite consisting of BC sheet from disintegrated pellicle was better. The lack of resin impregnation in BC-polyAESO from disintegrated pellicle led to a laminated structure, which utilised the fracture toughness of BC sheet effectively.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 105766 |
| Journal | Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing |
| Volume | 130 |
| Early online date | 7 Jan 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2020 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
The authors would like to thank the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/N026489/1) for funding this work. We would also like to acknowledge the financial support from the Department of Aeronautics Imperial College London for funding AS .
Keywords
- (A) Biocomposite
- (B) Fracture toughness
- (D) Mechanical testing
- Bacterial cellulose