Utilization of microalgae residue and isolated cellulose nanocrystals: A study on crystallization kinetics of poly (ɛ-caprolactone) bio-composites

Solution/solvent casting facilitates better initial dispersion of NC in PCL but is limited by environmental and processing drawbacks.

“solution/solvent casting, often using chloroform or dichloromethane as solvents, facilitates better initial dispersion but is limited by environmental and processing drawbacks [20,22,23,36,67,68]”

NC can enhance the thermal stability and crystallinity of PCL composites, although this effect is strongly dependent on the type of NC and its dispersion quality.

“TGA and DSC analyses from multiple studies indicate that NC can enhance the thermal stability and crystallinity of PCL composites, although this effect is strongly dependent on the type of NC and its dispersion quality [22,66,67,68]”

Addition of NC significantly improves the mechanical performance of PCL, with measurable increases in tensile strength, Young's modulus, and elongation at break at low NC loadings typically below 5 wt.%.

“numerous studies confirm that the addition of NC significantly improves the mechanical performance of PCL. The tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and elongation at break have all shown measurable increases at low NC loadings (typically < 5 wt.%) [21,22,23,36,67]”