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Sustainable bio-nanocomposite from lignocellulose nanofibers and HDPE for knee biomechanics: A tribological and mechanical properties study

  • Fedia Bettaieb , Ahmed Nabhan , Mohamed Shehadeh , Ahmed Fouly , Ibrahim Saad ELDeeb and Mohamed Taha EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 2, 2025
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Open Engineering
From the journal Open Engineering Volume 15 Issue 1

Abstract

This study investigates the potential of sustainable bio-nanocomposites for biomechanical knee applications, focusing on the integration of lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (CNF-L) with high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Twin-screw extrusion and injection molding were used to prepare CNF-L from unbleached, pulped rice straw, which was subsequently incorporated into HDPE at various weight levels (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2%). The results of the study showed significant hydrophilicity compared to native HDPE, with water contact angle values ranging from 67° to 83°. Significant improvements in both tribological and mechanical properties were observed. In particular, yield strength and hardness increased by 23.4 and 18.5%, respectively, compared to standard HDPE. Tribological performance also improved, with a 20.3% reduction in coefficient of friction and a 53.6% reduction in weight loss. These results highlight the effective role of lignin in improving the tribological properties of bio-nanocomposites. The study demonstrates the potential of HDPE/CNF-L composites as sustainable materials for knee biomechanics applications, offering improved mechanical strength and wear resistance.

Keywords: HDPE; bio-nanocomposite; wear mechanism; cellulose; CNF-L

Nomenclature

CNF-L

Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers

COF

Friction coefficient

DSC

Differential scanning calorimetry

HDPE

High-density polyethylene

MAPE

Polyethylene graft maleic anhydride

PMMA

Polymethyl methacrylate

WCA

Water contact angle

XRD

X-ray diffraction

1 Introduction

Polymer-based nanocomposites have become popular alternatives to metals due to their remarkable progress in recent years. However, most polymers used in industry are derived from fossil fuels and have slow degradation rates in nature. This has motivated researchers to develop and produce polymer materials using environmentally friendly fillers that help these materials degrade in the environment without leaving harmful residues [1,2,3,4]. Rice straw is one of the waste products that many researchers are trying to convert into natural materials [5]. Extracting lignocellulosic biomass from rice straw is one of the most promising uses for this invaluable natural resource [6]. Cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose are the organic, environmentally friendly substances that make up rice straw fibers. Bleached cellulose-free lignin is commonly used as the raw material for isolating rice straw nanofibers (RSNFs), which have attracted much interest due to their significant yield, affordable price, and environmentally friendly properties [7]. In recent years, bio-nanocomposite materials have become an important field of study due to their potential medical applications [8,9,10,11]. Despite their superior wear resistance, exceptional self-lubrication, and excellent biocompatibility, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) have dominated the manufacture of joint replacement materials for more than 50 years. They are then used as the main bearing components for synthetic joints [12,13,14]. The use of various inorganic and organic reinforcements has led to improvements in both the mechanical and tribological properties of the HDPE matrix [15]. The dispersion of various nanofillers into the HDPE matrix has been carried out by many fabrication techniques such as melt blending, casting technique, and in situ polymerization [16]. The hybrid HDPE/UHMWPE matrix was reinforced with 0.2–2% loading content of MWCNTs. The results show that a matrix with a high loading content of MWCNTs performs well in terms of wear [17].

A high loading content of MWCNTs (2.5, 5, 7, and 10% by weight) in an HDPE matrix was prepared to evaluate the mechanical and frictional performance. It is evident that the MWCNT loading up to 7.5% causes the friction coefficient to trend much lower by weakening the plastic deformation layers at the contact interface [18]. Furthermore, the HDPE matrix was incorporated with different weight fractions of MWCNTs of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5% to improve the wear resistance. The results showed that the dispersion of 2% MWCNTs contributes to increasing the mechanical and thermal stability and reduces the wear loss by about 85% compared to the native HDPE matrix [19]. The effects of SWCNTs and MWCNTs with loading contents of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 wt% on the wear mechanism have been adopted [20]. From the study, it is evident that the presence of 0.4 wt% MWCNTs reduces the wear rate by about 41.8%, while the incorporation of 0.4% SWCNTs reduces the wear rate by about 42.2%. Furthermore, hybrid MWCNTs/Al2O3 nanofillers were prepared by magnetic stirring twin screw extrusion. The dispersion content was 3 wt% of MWCNTs and varying concentrations of Al₂O₃ NPs (0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4, and 3 wt%). The results show that 1.2 wt% Al₂O₃ NPs resulted in a lower coefficient of friction (COF) and improved electrical conductivity and wettability [21]. HDPE-based composites dispersed with different nanofillers, SiO2 NPs, halloysite mineral nanotubes, titanium nitride NPs, and graphene oxide nanoplatelets, with the addition of a low amount of hydrophobic vinyl silane, were evaluated [22]. The integration of microcarbon fibers and hydroxyapatite into an HDPE matrix was evaluated. The results show a remarkable improvement in the mechanical, biological, and tribological properties of the HDPE nanocomposites [23]. The tribological function was monitored using an array of TiO2 nanoparticles and nanographene (GN) with different concentrations [24]. With a loading amount of 1.5 wt%, the mechanical performance of the hybrid nanofiller is readily apparent. In addition, there was a decrease of approximately 27.5% in the wear rate and 36.3% in COF. GN was incorporated into the HDPE matrix to determine the optimum loading ratio [25]. It was seen that the sample incorporating 0.5 wt% graphene contributed to the reduction of COF and wear rate by up to 33 and 36%, respectively. In addition, paraffin oil with GN was incorporated in different formulations to evaluate the matrix performance. It was seen that the samples containing 5 wt% paraffin oil and 0.5 wt% GN exhibited superior mechanical and tribological properties, with a 38% reduction in wear rate and a 34% reduction in COF as compared to the other formulations [26]. It can be concluded that paraffin oil enhances the self-lubricating nature of the composite and can improve its tribological performance.

Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and nanocrystals (CNC) are the two main forms of nanocellulose that can be broadly classified. Therefore, it is a convenient filler to produce environmentally friendly polymer composites. A PMMA composite supplemented with 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 wt% CNF and CNC was developed to investigate its tribological performance [27]. The results indicated that the incorporation of 0.5 wt% CNC resulted in a decrease in COF and wear volume. In addition, the PMMA matrix dispersed with 0.1 wt% CNF contributes to the reduction of wear volume by about 90% and the increase of yield stress and ultimate strength by about 35–45%. Green epoxy composites reinforced with 0.9 and 1.4 wt% CNF have been carried out [28]. The epoxy matrix with 1.4 wt% CNF exhibited a significant mechanical property and showed the best wear performance, which is about 60% improvement compared to the native epoxy matrix. However, the loading of CNF at 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt% on the HDPE matrix was investigated [29]. Compared to native HDPE, the yield strength, COF, and wear rate of HDPE/CNF containing 4 wt% were all increased, as shown in the experiment. In this order, these increases were approximately 30, 17.5, and 50%, respectively. The objective and innovation of this study were to synthesize natural materials to serve as inspiration for the development of advanced bio-nanocomposites. The previously described composites were developed to demonstrate reduced coefficients of friction and wear, and superior mechanical and tribological properties. In this work, a twin-screw extruder was employed to incorporate an HDPE matrix with lignocellulose nanofibers (CNF-L). The purpose is to evaluate the durability of this composite. The standard tensile test approach was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of these blends, including their Young’s modulus and yield strength. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to study the crystalline structure, phase transitions, and heat flow of HDPE composites during the first heating, cooling, and second heating cycles. Water contact angle (WCA) was employed to investigate hydrophobicity, surface energy, and wettability. Tribological studies were conducted under a variety of loads to evaluate the wear and friction capabilities of the CNF-L filler.

2 Equipment and procedures

2.1 Materials

In this work, a variety of materials, including HDPE powder, sodium stearate, polyethylene graft maleic anhydride (MAPE), and lignocellulose nanofiber CNF-L, were used. HDPE powder is a thermoplastic polymer with high density and good wear resistance and is widely used in the plastics industry. This powder was provided by Sigma-Aldrich, France. Sodium stearate (CH3(CH2)16COONa, purity ≥92%) is an organic compound and the sodium salt of stearic acid. It is commonly used as a surfactant or lubricant. This material was supplied by Roth Company in France. MAPE is an anhydride-modified polymer used as a crosslinking agent to improve the properties of polymers with a viscosity of 500 cP at 140°C (liters). CNF-L was developed and obtained from rice straw fiber. Rice straw was collected from Giza ranches in Egypt. To remove soil, the straw was rinsed with drinking water and allowed to dry in the air. Chemical analysis and processing included the use of glacial acetic acid, sodium sulfite, sodium chlorite (80% purity), and sodium carbonate. Supplies were provided by Fisher Scientific, UK [30].

2.2 Nanocomposite preparation

Three mechanical processes – a one-step injection molding technique, a two-phase twin-screw extrusion process, and an efficient operation – were used to produce nanocomposites as previously documented in the scientific literature [31,32]. All these preparation steps synthesize compounds and dilute the extruded nanocomposite masterbatch. A masterbatch consisting of HDPE was processed in a DSM-Xplore15cc twin-screw micro-extruder (Xplore Instruments BV – The Netherlands). Extrusion was performed under a temperature gradient of 200–230°C to produce nanocomposites containing freeze-dried CNF-L as nanofiller, MAPE as compatibilizer, and sodium stearate as plasticizer. A recirculating loop extruder was used to extract the nanocomposites have different contents from the barrel over the course of 10 min at a constant screw speed of 50 rpm. Fresh polymer matrix (and MAPE for additive compositions) was used to additionally dilute HDPE/CNF-L composite to 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt% CNF-L from the masterbatch. The extrusion process was performed with 2.0 wt% sodium stearate. The names of the samples and the contents of fillers and additives from this experiment are shown in Table 1. The originally extruded material was cut into small pieces, melted at 200°C (heater mold temperatures), and then injected using a Haake Minijet II injection molding machine (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Karlsruhe, Germany) for 15 s at a pressure of 550 bar. The traction profile and the 25 mm × 1.5 mm disks were measured.

Table 1

HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites

Sample name HDPE (%) CNF-L (%) MAPE (%) Sodium stearate (%)
HDPE-00 95 0 3 2
HDPE-01 94.5 0.5 3 2
HDPE-02 94 1 3 2
HDPE-03 93.5 1.5 3 2
HDPE-04 93 2 3 2

3 Characterization

3.1 X-ray diffraction

The reflectance data of the extruded nanocomposite samples were collected at room temperature using an XRD instrument (model PANalytical – Netherlands) with a CuK anode (λ = 0.154 nm) set at 45 kV and 30 mA. The patterns were recorded between 4° and 80° using the fixed pattern technique, which is time-consuming and has a phase separation of 0.02°. The amorphous part of any material is usually visualized as a halo. The amorphous halo and crystallographic peaks were analyzed using the X’Pert High Score Plus software [33] and calculated using the equation:

(1) % CI = ( A c / A total ) × 100 .

3.2 DSC

DSC was performed on the samples studied using thermal phase evaluation equipment (model PerkinElmer – USA). The evaluation can provide valuable insight into melting temperature, crystallization, and thermal stability. All samples underwent a heating–cooling–heating cycle in an N₂ environment, within the allowable range of −100 to 250°C, at a rate of 10°C/min.

3.3 WCA

A fully computerized optical system (model OCA 40 Micro-Japan) was used to determine the contact angles of the injection molded nanocomposites using 2 ml of distilled water per drop. The contact angles of each water droplet were measured at 22°C and 45% relative humidity, and an animation was recorded at 72 fps. Such a technique allows precise monitoring of even the smallest changes on the droplet surface, resulting in accurate contact angle estimates down to 0.1°.

3.4 Mechanical characterization

The mechanical parameters of the dumbbell-injected specimens, particularly yield strength, elongation at break, and modulus of elasticity, were evaluated using standard testing equipment (model Instron 5965, USA) in accordance with ASTM D638. The samples were annealed for 48 h at 25°C and 50% humidity prior to testing. The initial distance between the two air jaws was set at 10 mm with a crosshead speed of 2 mm/s, and tests were performed on five specimens.

Shore D durometer is used to determine the hardness of HDPE samples based on ASTM D2240, which applies a standardized force to evaluate the resistance of the surface to indentation. Five locations were performed to evaluate the depth of indentation on each sample to calculate the hardness of the injection molded nanocomposite samples, and then, each test was calculated as an average.

3.5 Tribological characterization

An ASTM G99 pin-on-disk tribometer was used to determine the COF and wear of specimens of nanocomposite materials in a dry state. In the apparatus, a 180 mm diameter, 3 mm thick stainless-steel plate serves as a mating disk. A surface roughness tester is used to accurately measure the surface roughness of a backing plate: R z = 0.179 μm and R a = 0.023 μm. Disk-shaped nanocomposite specimens were used instead of a stationary pin in the experiment. The tribological characteristics of each specimen were investigated by adjusting the normal load measurement variables (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 N) while maintaining a constant sliding speed of 0.4 m/s. The COF result of each test was the average of the collected readings. Wear loss tests were performed every 2 min. An electronic balance with an accuracy of 0.0001 g was used to measure the initial and final weights of the specimens. The weights and losses of the specimens were reported. In addition, the worn surfaces were examined using a Jeol’s table SEM (model SEM JSM-6000 – Japan) and an optical microscope (model Olympus BX53M – Japan).

4 Results and Discussion

4.1 Characterizations of CNF-L

Optical images of the pre-grinding fibrillation process of unbleached rice straw, in which microscopic particles and partial nanofibers appear, are shown in Figure 1. For unbleached pulp, the refining process starts early and lacks extensive fiber degradation. The article also explores the properties of nano paper made from the isolated nanofibers. In the final refining step, unbleached rice straw showed no non-combined fibers [34]. The final CNF-L ring was detected by SEM, as shown in Figure 2(a). A slight disappearance of microfibrils was observed in the CNF-L, simultaneously indicating the presence of nanofibrils. The CNF-L measurements were further refined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) of air-dried, highly diluted (0.001%, w/w) suspensions deposited on freshly bonded mica surfaces, as shown in Figure 2(b). The AFM images showed highly homogeneous nanofibrils, irrespective of the initial fiber shapes used before grinding [35].

Figure 1 Optical microscope images of (a) unbleached rice straw before fibrillation and (b) unbleached during the grinding process.
Figure 1

Optical microscope images of (a) unbleached rice straw before fibrillation and (b) unbleached during the grinding process.

Figure 2 (a) AFM and (b) SEM scan lignocellulose nanofibers of CNF-L.
Figure 2

(a) AFM and (b) SEM scan lignocellulose nanofibers of CNF-L.

4.2 XRD analysis of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites

Figure 3 shows X-ray diffractograms illustrating the influence of various CNF-L-based HDPE samples on crystallinity. The refraction planes of the orthorhombic unit cell (110) and (200) show two separate peaks at angles of 23.8 and 21.46°, respectively [36]. The presence of both crystalline and amorphous regions in the cellulose chains is confirmed by the semi-crystalline pattern exhibited by the CNF-L peaks [37]. The gradient amount of CNF-L filler causes little change in the (110) and (200) planes – all concentrations – 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%. The diffraction pattern for each sample showed a slight shift in the diffraction peaks as the nanocellulose fiber content was increased. These results show that the orthorhombic crystal structure of HDPE was not affected by the addition of CNF-L. The overlapping peak of HDPE and lignocellulose nanofibers at approximately 22° in 2θ was previously published research using CNF-L filler in the HDPE matrix [38,39].

Figure 3 X-ray diffraction patterns of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.
Figure 3

X-ray diffraction patterns of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.

4.3 DSC thermograms

The DSC thermograms of the prepared nanocomposite samples are highlighted in Figure 4. It was shown that the melting and crystallization temperatures of the composites were almost the same as those of the free matrix. It was found that the thermal stability of the samples was maintained. While DSC is a relative method and not as accurate as XRD for identifying the level of crystallinity of the polymers. It is evident that an increase in the degree of crystalline was detected in the composites, as described in the XRD part.

Figure 4 DSC of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.
Figure 4

DSC of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.

4.4 WCA

The WCA results measured as an average value for the native HDPE, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt% CNF-L composites are shown in Figure 5. The incorporation of lignocellulosic CNF-L greatly increased the hydrophilicity, as indicated by the WCA values of the CNF-L nanocomposite samples, which ranged from 67° to 83°. This is probably a consequence of the hydrophilic identity of cellulose and the presence of hydroxyl groups [40]. Thus, the nanocomposites are more hydrophilic than HDPE at all concentrations. The increased hydrophilicity of these nanocomposites is supposed also would aid in cell adhesion and culture [41,42].

Figure 5 WCA of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.
Figure 5

WCA of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.

4.5 Mechanical properties of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites

The mechanical parameters of the derived HDPE nanocomposites are shown in Table 2, and the stress-strain graph is shown in Figure 6(a), respectively. According to these experiments, the yield strength showed that the samples containing CNF-L exhibited excellent elongation, Young’s modulus, and average tensile strength. The results showed that the properties of CNF-L applied to HDPE increased steadily between 0.5 and 2% by weight. For CNF-L loading contents of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%, the tensile stresses of these nanocomposites increased by 1.82, 18.44, 22.6, and 23.4%, respectively. In addition, significant increases in Young’s modulus and elongation at break were observed in the samples compared to the neat HDPE samples. The perceived increase in strength may be associated with the use of a coupling agent, maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) [43], as well as with the implementation of a twin-screw extrusion and injection molding processes utilizing a masterbatch. These approaches have been shown to be effective in facilitating the dispersion of cellulose nanofibers within HDPE [44,45]. The importance of composites is expressed by their respective degrees of hardness, which serve as indicators of their ability to withstand compression. This property may be more important than composite tensile strength when used them for prosthetic joints manufacturing [46].

Table 2

Mechanical parameters of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites

CNF-L% Tensile strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (GPa) Breaking strain (%)
HDPE-00 21.5 ± 1.0 406.9 ± 17 13.6 ± 1.1
HDPE-01 22.2 ± 0.8 408.6 ± 15 13.1 ± 0.7
HDPE-02 25.6 ± 0.9 416.8 ± 19 22.1 ± 1.1
HDPE-03 26.2 ± 0.7 426.6 ± 21 22.7 ± 0.8
HDPE-04 26.5 ± 1.1 431.2 ± 21.7 20.8 ± 0.9
Figure 6 Mechanical experiments of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) stress–strain curve and (b) hardness value.
Figure 6

Mechanical experiments of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) stress–strain curve and (b) hardness value.

Figure 6(b) shows a comparison of the Shore D hardness values between HDPE and nanocomposites, as indicated by the graphical representation. The observed performance of the 2 wt% HDPE/CNF-L composite can be attributed to its increased hardness value combined with a satisfactory tensile strength value, resulting in an improvement of 18.5%. In addition, except for CNF-L at a concentration of 0.5%, which has a slightly lower hardness value than HDPE, the hardness values of all samples show a direct correlation with their respective mechanical properties. It is possible that the results will clarify why fillers improve the mechanical properties of nanocomposites.

4.6 HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites’ tribological performance

To evaluate the friction performance, tribological experiments were performed on a tribometer at different normal loads at the same sliding speed. Figure 7(a) shows the COF, which is a fundamental measure of how fast two moving surfaces can slip against each other. An important measure of the lifetime of friction materials is their wear resistance (volume loss) [47]. The wear loss values of the nanocomposites are shown in Figure 7(b), considering the wear loss of the unmodified HDPE. In general, both wear loss and COF tend to increase with the average applied force. As can be seen, the application of CNF-L in this study reduced the wear loss and the COF of the nanocomposites. As shown in Table 3, the incorporation of CNF-L into the HDPE resulted in a significant improvement in both wear resistance and frictional property. This fact can be attributed to several things, the main of which is the addition of lignocellulose to the HDPE matrix. This admixture greatly improves the mechanical and tribological properties of the material due to the increased strength of the fibers and their ability to tolerate flexural stress, as reported in the literature [48]. In addition, the increased surface area-to-volume ratio of nanocellulose fibers improves particle bonding in composites. Tribological performance can be improved through stronger bonding by enhancing properties such as hardness and crystalline [49]. The inherent property of hydrophilicity helps to reduce the COF [50]. Table 3 shows a remarkable improvement in COF and weight loss observed in the samples of our HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposite. The rice straw fibers have a remarkable silica concentration, which has the potential to improve the tribological characterization [51,52].

Figure 7 (a) COF and (b) weight loss of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.
Figure 7

(a) COF and (b) weight loss of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites.

Table 3

Improvement in percentages of COF and weight loss of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites

Load (N) COF Weight loss
HDPE-01 HDPE-02 HDPE-03 HDPE-04 HDPE-01 HDPE-02 HDPE-03 HDPE-04
5 7.1 9.5 14.3 14.3 18.8 31.3 43.8 37.5
10 8.5 13.8 17.0 14.9 26.3 31.6 42.1 47.4
15 5.9 11.8 18.6 17.6 22.7 31.8 45.5 40.9
20 10.5 16.7 23.7 22.8 30.8 34.6 50.0 46.2
25 11.9 16.9 20.3 18.6 32.1 32.1 53.6 46.4

Through visual inspection of the worn surfaces shown in Figures 8 and 9, it is evident that the surfaces of the nanocomposites are smoother than the surfaces of the native HDPE. Compared to other materials, the composites appear to have less wear due to their flat surface. Regarding the wear volume loss of the nanocomposites, the previous statement is supported by the 3D photographs of the worn surfaces, as shown in Figure 8. Compared to the native HDPE without nanofibers, the worn surfaces generally showed less wear after the addition of the lignocellulose CNF-L. As shown in Figure 9, SEM images were taken to evaluate the worn surfaces in more detail. The worn surface of the native sample appears extremely degraded due to areas of plowing and plastic morphology. The SEM images show that the interface surfaces of the nanocomposite samples are not as damaged as those of the free HDPE sample. It is evident that the use of CNF-L filler serves to improve the mechanical properties of the composites, especially durability and shear resistance. The surface of the sample loaded with 1.5 wt% filler shows a favorable and uniform texture, suggesting that a specific substance referred to as CNF-L is the most effective filler content.

Figure 8 2-D and 3-D scans of the contact surfaces of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) native HDPE, (b) HDPE/0.5 wt% of CNF-L, (c) HDPE/1 wt% of CNF-L, (d) HDPE/1.5 wt% of CNF-L, and (e) HDPE/2 wt% of CNF-L.
Figure 8

2-D and 3-D scans of the contact surfaces of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) native HDPE, (b) HDPE/0.5 wt% of CNF-L, (c) HDPE/1 wt% of CNF-L, (d) HDPE/1.5 wt% of CNF-L, and (e) HDPE/2 wt% of CNF-L.

Figure 9 SEM scans of the contact surfaces of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) native HDPE, (b) HDPE/0.5 wt% of CNF-L, (c) HDPE/1 wt% of CNF-L, (d) HDPE/1.5 wt% of CNF-L, and (e) HDPE/2 wt% of CNF-L.
Figure 9

SEM scans of the contact surfaces of HDPE/CNF-L nanocomposites: (a) native HDPE, (b) HDPE/0.5 wt% of CNF-L, (c) HDPE/1 wt% of CNF-L, (d) HDPE/1.5 wt% of CNF-L, and (e) HDPE/2 wt% of CNF-L.

5 Conclusions

In the final analysis, a specific type of natural biomass that was included in the polymer matrix was lignocellulosic nanofiber (CNF-L). A two-step process was used to produce nanocomposites of different content. In the first step, a masterbatch of HDPE and freeze-dried CNF-L was extruded and pelletized. After injection molding, the masterbatch was diluted to various filler loading levels of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt%. The crystalline structure of the HDPE matrix changed when long-range self-assembled CNF-L was incorporated, and this change was evident at higher nanofiber levels. It is proven that HDPE/CNF-L bio-nanocomposites have superior tribological and mechanical properties compared to native HDPE, which makes them a suitable choice for use as bearing materials in the fabrication of artificial joints. The use of CNF-L was found to be more effective in reducing the COF and wear loss of HDPE at all levels of nanofiller concentration. Furthermore, it is evident that bio-nanocomposites have superior performance in terms of Young’s modulus, elongation at break, and yield strength when compared to native polymers. The results of this study indicate that CNF-L containing a higher content of lignin exhibits improved resistance to abrasion and wear. The results conducted in the current study experiments reveal that such HDPE/CNF-L composites have the potential to facilitate the development of innovative natural materials. The obtained bio-nanocomposites possess both good wear resistance and excellent mechanical properties and could be particularly used for lubricating applications. While biocompatibility and in vivo performance were not evaluated in this study, both HDPE and lignocellulosic nanofibers are known for their favorable compatibility with physiological environments. This makes them promising candidates for further investigation into biomedical applications. Future research will focus on comprehensive biocompatibility assessments and simulation under physiological loads to validate their practical applicability in total knee joint replacements.

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their appreciation to King Saud University for funding this research through the Ongoing Research Funding Program (ORF-2025-990), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

  1. Funding information: The authors extend their appreciation to King Saud University for funding this research through the Ongoing Research Funding Program (ORF-2025-990), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and consented to its submission to the journal, reviewed all the results and approved the final version of the manuscript. Fedia Bettaieb: experimental, writing original draft, and review. Ahmed Nabhan: investigation and writing – review and editing. Mohamed Shehadeh: validation and review and editing. Ahmed Fouly: review and editing and investigation. Ibrahim Saad ELDeeb: data analysis, review, and editing. Mohamed Taha: writing – review and editing.

  3. Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Data availability statement: Data will be made available on request.

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Received: 2024-10-10
Revised: 2025-05-19
Accepted: 2025-06-18
Published Online: 2025-08-02

© 2025 the author(s), published by De Gruyter

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2025-0126
Keywords for this article
HDPE; bio-nanocomposite; wear mechanism; cellulose; CNF-L
Creative Commons
BY 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Research Articles
  2. Modification of polymers to synthesize thermo-salt-resistant stabilizers of drilling fluids
  3. Study of the electronic stopping power of proton in different materials according to the Bohr and Bethe theories
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