The influence of cellulose content on the morphology, thermal, and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid)/Eucomis autumnalis cellulose biocomposites

Among the commonly studied organic fillers for PLA, cellulose is the most promising. It is available in various particle sizes and sources, providing numerous options for finding a suitable match for PLA matrices. In this study, cellulose was extracted from the leaves of E. autumnalis to create a novel PLA/cellulose composite. Based on a distinguished cellulose spectrum, EA cellulose was incorporated into a PLA matrix. According to SEM results, adding 3.0 wt% EA cellulose to PLA resulted in no fiber pull-outs. Below this content, fiber pull-outs were observed. FTIR and TGA results indicated no significant changes in chemical structure and thermal stability of the composites. XRD, DSC, and Tensile testing results revealed an increase in the crystallinity and modulus for the 3.0 wt% composites, below this content, the crystallinity and modulus of the samples were low. Therefore, in order to obtain the composition of the composite with the desired functional properties, the ratio of the PLA to EA cellulose plays a vital role, and these have to be controlled for more effective functional properties. This study has shown that blending PLA with EA cellulose can give improved properties at 3.0 wt% EA cellulose although not optimized.