Thermal pyrolysis characteristics and kinetic analysis of nanofibrillated cellulose/graphene oxide composites

The fabrication process determines the microstructure and physical properties of material to some extent. In this study nanofibrillated cellulose /graphene oxide (NFC/GO) composites were fabricated by casting and evaporation methods, respectively. The microstructure and thermostability of the composites were investigated. The composites fabricated by the casting method had more uniform layered microstructure than those made by the evaporation method. The thermogravimetry analysis indicated that in the stage of 100 to 220 °C diffusion, the mechanisms of the Ginstling-Brounstein equation (D4) and the one-way transport equation (D1) can be regarded as the most suitable thermal pyrolysis reaction models for the composites made by the casting method and the evaporation method, respectively. However, in the stage of 220 to 380 °C, the two types of composites showed totally different thermal pyrolysis mechanisms. The results manifested that forming methods could indeed affect the microstructure and thermal degradation process of composites.