The mechanical and thermal properties of PE/CNC nanocomposite

Polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites containing Cellulose Nano Crystal (CNC) were prepared via melt blending in a twin screw extruder. The evaluation of PE/CNC nanocomposites was studied for food packaging applications. The nanocomposites were investigated by thermal, mechanical analyses. Addition of CNC particle while having no effect on melting and crystallization temperature had intensive effect on the degree of crystallinity of the polyethylene. It is shown that due to the weak interfacial bonding between CNC and PE matrix, a decrease in yield stress and modulus of elasticity was observed for PE/CNC nanocomposites. According to the x-ray diffraction analyses, incorporation of the CNC into PE matrix induced a preferred crystalline orientation for PE crystallites.