Preparation and thermomechanical properties of nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites

A two‐step process was developed to prepare nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a compatibilizer. It was composed of solvent mixing and melt blending. The NCC was well dispersed in the PLA matrix. A network was formed at high NCC‐to‐PEG ratio at which the amount of the PEG was not enough to cover all the surfaces of the NCC. The formation of the network was confirmed by the occurrence of a plateau for the storage modulus at low frequency. The incorporation of the PEG and NCC could improve the crystallinity of the PLA. The elongation at break increased from 11.0% for the neat PLA to 106.0% for the composites including 6 wt % NCC, impact strength was improved from 0.864 to 2.64 kJ m^?2 and tensile strength did not change significantly for the same 6 wt % NCC composites. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44683.