The fabrication of affinity improved nanocomposites with plasma treated polypropylene (PP) and alkaline cellulose nanofiber (CNF) suspension

Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites containing cellulose nanomaterials have been studied for the last decade, but are still challenging due to the lack of affinity between PP and cellulose nanofiber (CNF), and the uneven dispersion of CNF in the PP matrix. In order to achieve the uniform dispersion of CNF in the PP matrix and improve affinity between PP and CNF, plasma-treated PP/aCNF nanocomposites were prepared by adding an alkaline CNF (aCNF) suspension to the nitrogen (N₂) and oxygen (O₂) plasma-treated PP. Based on the results of various analyses, the N₂ plasma-treated PP (npPP)/aCNF nanocomposite showed the best performance in tensile and oxygen barrier properties. The npPP/aCNF nanocomposite increased 32.8 and 26.3% in yield stress and Young's modulus, respectively, compared with neat PP, also in O₂ permeability, it showed a value of 94.31 cc-mm/m²-day-atm and showed a statistically significant decrease in contrast to neat PP. The npPP/aCNF nanocomposite has a great feasibility to be applied in various barrier packaging applications.