Open Access

ARTICLE

Lightweight Biobased Polyurethane Nanocomposite Foams Reinforced with Pineapple Leaf Nanofibers (PLNFs)

Xiaojian Zhou^1,2, Hui Wang¹, Jun Zhang², Zhifeng Zheng¹, Guanben Du^1,2,*

1 Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Wood Adhesives and Glued Products, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China
2 Sino-French Laboratory of Wood Composites and Biomaterials, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China

*Corresponding author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2018, 6(1), 68-74. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2017.634150

Abstract

Pineapple leaf nanofibers (PLNFs) extracted from pineapple leaf fiber were used for reinforcing biobased polyurethane foam (BPU). The dispersion performance of PLNF in the foaming mixture system, nanocomposite foaming behavior, cell morphology, cell size, density, compressive strength and dimensional stability were investigated. The viscosity of the mixtures increased with increasing the PLNF content. The addition of a tiny amount of PLNF did not influence the exothermic temperature of the foam system, but reduced the expansion and gel time of the nanocomposite foams. This reduced time was found to increase the production efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the PLNF neither affected the cell shape nor size. While the density of the foam was not obviously altered with the addition of a small amount of PLNF, the compressive strength and dimensional stability were significantly improved.

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Keywords

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