Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid) Fibers through Melt Spinning with Cellulose Propionate from Rice Straw
Dan Xu, Yu-Jing Pan, Zhihao Du, Zhu‐Bao Shao, Jianhui Qiu, Longxiang Zhu
Abstract
In this study, propionate cellulose (CP) derived from rice straw was successfully prepared via propionic anhydride modification. Subsequently, a biodegradable fiber of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) physically modified by incorporating CP was obtained using the melt spinning method. The results demonstrated that the addition of 5 wt % CP significantly enhanced the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the propionate cellulose/polylactic acid-1 (CP/PLA-1) composite fiber to 150.9 MPa and 3.43 GPa, respectively, higher than pure PLA (67.7 MPa and 2.73 GPa). CP also had a dramatic effect on the drafting of composite fibers. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of CP/PLA-1 further improved to 423.5 MPa and 11.3 GPa, respectively, after the drawing process. In terms of degradation, the mass loss rates of PLA, CP/PLA-1, CP/PLA-2, and CP/PLA-3 remained below 3% after five months of natural degradation. Notably, a significant mass loss of 11.1% was observed in CP/PLA-4, which was only achievable when the CP content reached 20 wt %. This study sheds light on the promising mechanical and degradation properties of CP/PLA composite fibers, making them potential candidates for environmentally friendly applications.