Issue 2, 2022

Rheo-SAXS study of shear-induced orientation and relaxation of cellulose nanocrystal and montmorillonite nanoplatelet dispersions

Abstract

The development of robust production processes is essential for the introduction of advanced materials based on renewable and Earth-abundant resources. Cellulose nanomaterials have been combined with other highly available nanoparticles, in particular clays, to generate multifunctional films and foams. Here, the structure of dispersions of rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and montmorillonite nanoplatelets (MNT) was probed using small-angle X-ray scattering within a rheological cell (Rheo-SAXS). Shear induced a high degree of particle orientation in both the CNC-only and CNC:MNT composite dispersions. Relaxation of the shear-induced orientation in the CNC-only dispersion decayed exponentially and reached a steady-state within 20 seconds, while the relaxation of the CNC:MNT composite dispersion was found to be strongly retarded and partially inhibited. Viscoelastic measurements and Guinier analysis of dispersions at the shear rate of 0.1 s−1 showed that the addition of MNT promotes gel formation of the CNC:MNT composite dispersions. A better understanding of shear-dependent assembly and orientation of multi-component nanoparticle dispersions can be used to process materials with improved mechanical and functional properties.

Graphical abstract: Rheo-SAXS study of shear-induced orientation and relaxation of cellulose nanocrystal and montmorillonite nanoplatelet dispersions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Jun 2021
Accepted
26 Nov 2021
First published
13 Dec 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2022,18, 390-396

Rheo-SAXS study of shear-induced orientation and relaxation of cellulose nanocrystal and montmorillonite nanoplatelet dispersions

P. Munier, S. E. Hadi, M. Segad and L. Bergström, Soft Matter, 2022, 18, 390 DOI: 10.1039/D1SM00837D

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