Pavithra Wijeratne

Research area:

The objective of this project is to develop bio–composites from Non–Isocyanate Polyurethanes (NIPU) and nanocellulose, exploiting their propensity to establish interfacial hydrogen bonding. A special emphasis is made on understanding the effect of nano cellulose with different aspect ratios (length/width), surface chemistry, and their dispersion in the polymer matrix, i.e., NIPU derived from poly(hydroxyl–urethane)s (PHU), on the structure and properties of the biocomposites. Polyaddition reactions between cyclic carbonates and amines were used to synthesize the PHUs.