Thermosetting AESO-bacterial cellulose nanocomposite foams with tailored mechanical properties obtained by Pickering emulsion templating

Publication date: 2 June 2017
Source:Polymer, Volume 118
Author(s): Andreia F. Sousa, Sara Ferreira, Antoine Lopez, Inês Borges, Ricardo J.B. Pinto, Armando J.D. Silvestre, Carmen S.R. Freire
This study reports on the development of nanocomposite foams, prepared by Pickering emulsion templating, with promising tailored-properties, simply tunable by their composition. The selected multicomponent monomer mixtures comprise acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO), 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDD) and divinylbenzene (DVB), chosen by their renewable-origin or resemblance to renewable ones, and above all due to their varying stiffness or crosslinking-ability. The Pickering water-in-oil emulsions, after their fast stabilization using cyclohexane and acetylated bacterial cellulose, were used as templates for the polymeric foams production. These original materials were thermally stable up to approximately 320 °C, and had a Young's modulus varying between 3.41 and 16.39 MPa, being the highest results prompted by the use of HDD or DVB.

Graphical abstract

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