Development and characterization of cellulose/clay nanocomposites

Cotton is the most important textile fiber for apparel use and is preferred to synthetic fibers for reasons such as comfort and feel. A major drawback of cellulosic fibers is flammability. The development of cellulose/clay nanocomposites for use as flame-retardant materials based on cotton is reported in this paper. Novel nanocomposite materials have been produced from cellulose with layered silicate clays used as the nanofiller material. Three different methods were attempted in producing these organic–inorganic hybrids. The nanocomposites show significant improvements in thermal properties when compared with cellulose control sources. The degradation temperature of the nanocomposites increased by 45 °C and the char yields for some compositions doubled those of the controls. The crystalline melt of the materials decreased by 15 °C. Tensile testing revealed an increase of approximately 80% in the ultimate stress of the cellulose/clay nanocomposites.