Preparation and Properties of Blend Films Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Cellulose Nanocrystals

Hardwood dissolving pulp was used as the raw material for the preparation of cellulose nanocrytals (CNC) by sulfuric acid hydrolysis. CNC was added into the solutions of Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to prepared PVA/CNC blend films. The miscibility of PVA/CNC films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The strong hydrogen bonding was formed between the CNC and PVA in the mixing process, and also produced cross-linking between molecular. When the concentration of CNC was 1.0%, tensile strength and breaking tensile strain of blend films reached the max, with the increasing amount of CNC, flocculation of CNC was aggravated, and the compatibility of PVA and CNC was deteriorated, the mechanical properties of blend films were reduced.