Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane/microcrystalline cellulose bionanocomposites

• Polyurethane/cellulose bionanocomposites show exceptional mechanical properties.
• The thermal stability of the bionanocomposites was improved.
• TEM and XRD analysis confirmed the presence of dispersed cellulose nanofibrils.

In this study, novel polyurethane/cellulose hybrid bionanocomposite films have successfully been prepared by dispersing microcrystalline cellulose in a polyurethane matrix. Incorporation of microcrystalline cellulose in a polyurethane matrix improved the mechanical properties significantly. The polyurethane/cellulose bionanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM results confirm that the nanoparticles were dispersed uniformly in polymer matrix. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis data showed an improvement of thermal stability of novel nanocomposite films as compared to the neat polymer.