Chitin Nanofibers / Epoxy Resin Optically Transparent Nanocomposite Films

Abstract:

Chitin nanofibers were prepared from prawn shell by a simple mechanical treatment after the removal of proteins and minerals. Since the exoskeleton of prawn is made up of a finer structure nano-fibrillation of prawn shell is easy, which allows chitin nanofibers to be prepared under neutral pH conditions. The obtained nanofibers were observed by FE-SEM and found to have a uniform width of approximately 20-40nm and high aspect ratio that more than 1000. Due to the size effect of the chitin nanofibers, the nanocomposite films had high transparency that the chitin nanofibers/epoxy resin nanocomposite transmitted 85.2% of light compared to the light transmittance of pure epoxy resin（91%）and the light transmittance of pure chitin nanofibers sheet (70.1%) at a visible wavelength of 600nm. In the study the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) from 20 to 160°C of the epoxy resin sheet was measured to be 170 ppm/K. By adding 40 wt% of chitin nanofibers, the CTE of the epoxy resin dropped to 22 ppm/K, approximately 1/8th of its original value. The novel material is a candidate for transparent substrates in the manufacturing optoelectronic devices such as flexible displays and solar cells.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 602-604)
• Pages: 1479-1483
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.602-604.1479
• Online since: December 2012
• Authors: Xu Shao, Da Gang Li, Ai Jun Li, Wen Biao Gu
• Keywords: Chitin Nanofiber, Epoxy Resin (ER), Nanocomposite Film, Optically Transparent

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