Valorization of nylon and viscose-rayon textile yarn wastes for fabricating nanocomposite films

In this work, two types of pre-consumer textile waste, namely, viscose-rayon and nylon yarn, were utilized for nanocomposite filmmaking using the green solvent casting method. The nanocellulose was extracted from the viscose-rayon and incorporated as a filler in nylon films. The effects of nanocellulose on thermal, chemical, mechanical, structural, and barrier properties of films containing 0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt% nanocellulose were investigated in detail. The thermal study of films using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed that adding nanocellulose into the nylon matrix does not act as a nucleating agent as nylon yarn waste already had similar to 5 wt% nucleating agents (thermogravimetric analysis, TGA). Rather, a decrease in the crystallinity of films was determined with the addition of nanocellulose. No significant changes in the mechanical properties were observed for nylon nanocomposite films. However, an increased hydrogen bonding was observed between the nanocellulose and nylon, along with the reorientation of hydrogen bonds (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, FTIR). A dense cross-section and structured surface were observed in the scanning electronmicroscopic (SEM) images for nanocomposite films. The water vapor barrier of films increased as the concentration of nanocellulose increased in the nylon films and resulted in a 55% decrease in water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) compared to neat nylon film.