Preparation and Characterization of Carrot Nanocellulose and Ethylene/Vinyl Acetate Copolymer-Based Green Composites

This study aims to investigate the effect of nanocellulose on the properties and physical foaming of ethylene/vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. The nanocellulose is prepared from waste carrot residue using the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation method (CT) and is further modified through suspension polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer (CM). The obtained nanocellulose samples (CT or CM) are added to EVA to create a series of nanocomposites. Moreover, the EVA and CM/EVA composite were further foamed using supercritical carbon dioxide physical foaming. TEM results show that the average diameters of CT and CM are 24.35 ± 3.15 nm and 30.45 ± 1.86 nm, respectively. The analysis of mechanical properties demonstrated that the tensile strength of pure EVA increased from 10.02 MPa to 13.01 MPa with the addition of only 0.2 wt% of CM. Furthermore, the addition of CM to EVA enhanced the melt strength of the polymer, leading to improvements in the physical foaming properties of the material. The results demonstrate that the pore size of the CM/EVA foam material is smaller than that of pure EVA foam. Additionally, the cell density of the CM/EVA foam material can reach 3.23 × 1011 cells/cm3.