Reinforcing effect of Cellulose Nanocrystals on Polyamide-6 polymeric nano-composite films and electrospun composite nano-fiber yarns

林产品工业受经济形势和市场的影响较大。因此，寻求创新产品和高附加值新材料的新市场对加拿大森林部门的未来至关重要。在这些产品中，纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）和纤维素纳米原纤维（CNF）由于潜在的商业利益而越来越受到各行业的关注。FP创新在加拿大发挥了主导作用，支持探索CNC的应用，以加强对林业部门的支持。CNC是高度结晶的棒状颗粒，由于其理想的性能，如高强度和刚度以及相对低的密度，在纳米复合材料中作为增强剂非常有吸引力。加拿大是CNC材料生产的全球领导者；因此，提高对CNC增强潜力的理解并利用这些知识开发新的纳米复合材料具有重要的战略意义。这将为这种天然丰富的材料在加拿大和世界各地的商业应用提供途径。为此，本提案旨在研究将CNC添加到世界上最常用的聚合物之一尼龙6中。这种聚合物用于生产纤维和工程材料，如聚合物薄膜；然而，CNC纳入尼龙6还没有很好地调查和文献记录。在这个项目中，研究人员将把不同数量的CNC加入到聚合物薄膜和纤维中。研究结果将用于为世界各地的工程师生成设计曲线，以促进CNC在尼龙6应用中的大规模使用。该项目由FPInnovations作为工业合作伙伴提供支持。此外，除了这项提案，Ayranci博士和他的合作者Cranston博士（麦克马斯特大学）也在向阿尔伯塔-安大略省创新计划（AOIP）申请额外的资金。AOIP由艾伯塔省创新技术期货、安大略省卓越中心、安大略省和安大略省政府以及NSERC组成。

Forest products industry is closely affected from the economic conditions and the markets. Consequently, new markets that seek innovative products and high value added novel materials are crucial for the future of forest sector in Canada. Among these products, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are attracting increasing attention due to the potential commercial interests from various industries. FP Innovation has taken a lead role in Canada in supporting the exploration of applications for CNC in order to enhance their support of the forestry sector. CNC are highly crystalline rod-like particles that are very attractive as reinforcing agents in nano-composites due to desirable properties, such as high strength and stiffness and relatively low density. Canada is the global leader in the production of the CNC material; therefore, it is strategically important to develop an improved understanding of the reinforcing potential of CNC and use that knowledge to develop new nano-composite materials. This will provide pathways to commercial applications in Canada and around the world for this naturally abundant material. For this purpose, this proposal aims in investigating addition of CNC into one of the most commonly used polymers in the world, Nylon 6. This polymer is used to produce fibers and engineering materials such as polymeric films; however, incorporation of CNC into Nylon 6 has not been well investigated and documented in the literature. During this project, the researchers will incorporate different amounts of CNC into polymeric films and fibers. The findings will be used to generate design curves for engineers around the world to promote large scale use of CNC in Nylon 6 applications. This project is supported by FPInnovations as the industrial partner. Additionally, along with this proposal, Dr. Ayranci and his collaborator, Dr. Cranston (McMaster), are also applying to the Alberta-Ontario Innovation Program (AOIP) for extra funding. AOIP is formed between Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, Ontario Centres of Excellence, government of AB and ON, and NSERC.