Effects of Poly(ethylene glycol) on the Morphology and Properties of

Biocomposites Based on Polylactide and Cellulose Nanofibers

Fatemeh Safdari1, Pierre J. Carreau1,*, Marie C. Heuzey1, Musa R. Kamal2

1 Research Center for High Performance Polymer and Composite Systems (CREPEC), Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7, Canada2 CREPEC, Chemical Engineering Department, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C5, Canada*Correspondence to: Pierre J. Carreau; e-mail: pcarreau@polymtl.ca

Supplementary Information

Figure S1 depicts the appearance of the melt-based composites, i.e., PLA/2CNF (M) and

PLA/2CNF/4PEG (M). Large CNF agglomerates (white spots) were detected as a result of a

poor dispersion of the nanofibers; hence, we did not perform SEM, TEM or AFM analysis on

these samples. We also note that such agglomerates were not seen in solution-prepared

composites [1].

Fig. S1 Visual look of PLA/2CNF (M) and PLA/2CNF/4PEG (M) disks of 25 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness

1

The complex viscosity, η¿, of the samples containing 5 wt% nanofibers are presented in Fig. S2.

As shown, at low frequencies η¿ of the PEG-compatibilized sample is one order of magnitude

larger compared to that of the uncompatibilized composite, which is associated to a better

dispersion/distribution in the former.

Fig. S2 Complex viscosity vs frequency at 175 °C and 0.05 strain amplitude for PLA/5CNF and PLA/5CNF/10PEG

References

[1] Safdari F, Bagheriasl D, Carreau PJ, Heuzey MC, Kamal MR (2016) High-Performance Polylactide Biocomposites Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibers. SPE Plastics Research Online. doi: 10.2417/spepro.006650

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