Investigation of mechanical and optical properties of papers coated with Polycaprolactone - Nanocrystalline cellulose - zinc oxide Nanoparticle

In this research, the effect of coating with Polycaprolactone (PCL), nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) and zinc oxide Nanoparticle (ZnO NP) and their blend were investigated on the mechanical and optical properties. First, coating materials with specific condition (PCL 10%, NCC 4 and 6%, ZnO 3%) were coated on the papers. The coating materials weight on the papers was (2.2- 2.7 g/m2). The results showed that the mechanical properties (Tensile strength index, Burst strength index and Tear strength index) of the coated papers were enhanced with addition of NCC. The ternary blend of these coating materials had the best mechanical properties than the neat paper. With addition of NCC the brightness were enhanced and the opacity were reduced. Also, the color properties were improved with addition of NCC and ZnO and the effect of ZnO was more remarkable than NCC but, in ternary blend of materials, the color properties were improved with increasing the amount of NCC.