Characterization and mechanical properties of Micron Crystalline Cellulose (MCC) Reinforced Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE)

Abstract

Synthesized MCC was investigated using X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the MCC fiber has smooth surface and rod-like shape. The MCC possess semi crystalline structure because of the interaction between hydrogen bond and van der Waals forces. Furthermore, UHMWPE and MCC reinforced UHMWPE composites were prepared through hot compression technique. The impact of MCC loadings (10,20,30 wt.%) on the mechanical properties of the composites were successfully investigated. Both tensile and flexural properties were studied using universal testing machine while impact test was done using Charpy impact machine. The morphological properties were then examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that the tensile strength of the samples decreases as MCC loading increases. This is mainly due to agglomeration of MCC fiber which can be seen in the SEM imaging and poor adhesion strength between the fiber and matrix. As for flexural properties, both flexural strength and modulus increases with increasing MCC loadings because of the mechanical interlocking in the fiber surface. Besides, the impact properties shows decreasing trend. This is due to the concentrated stress around the MCC fiber and lower volume of UHMWPE content. Overall, 10% MCC/UHMWPE composite demonstrate the best performance among the tested samples.