Abstract
© 2016, European Conference on Composite Materials, ECCM. All rights reserved.This contribution will present the advantages of using Raman imaging as a complementary method to conventional techniques for investigating composite morphology. Two series of polyethylene based composites were prepared by melt compounding using cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as nano fillers. The cross sectional areas of nano composite filaments extruded from the compounder were investigated using confocal Raman microscopy. A protocol based on the combination of the structural and chemical "fingerprint" of a spectroscopic analysis with optical microscopy was developed. Raman images reveal the distribution of the fillers in the polyethylene matrix, while chemical images showed the degree of mixing between the fillers and matrix. The CNCs exhibited a lower degree of distribution than MWCNTs in polyethylene. The hydrophilic nature of CNCs induced the formation of hydrogen bonding between the nanoparticles increasing their tendency to agglomerate in nonpolar matrices. However a certain degree of mixing between CNCs and HDPE has been observed by Raman imaging.
| Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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| Title of host publication | ECCM 2016 - Proceeding of the 17th European Conference on Composite Materials |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |