Bio‐nanocomposite films based on cellulose nanocrystals filled polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan polymer blend |
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Authors: | Nassima El Miri Karima Abdelouahdi Mohamed Zahouily Aziz Fihri Abdellatif Barakat Abderrahim Solhy Mounir El Achaby |
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Affiliation: | 1. Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan II‐Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco;2. MAScIR Foundation, Rabat Design, Rue Mohamed El Jazouli, Madinat Al Irfane 10100 Rabat, Morocco;3. Division UATRS, Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST), Rabat, Morocco;4. INRA, UMR 1208 Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes (IATE) 2, France;5. Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Ben Guerir, Morocco |
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Abstract: | Bio‐nanocomposite films based on polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan (PVA/CS) polymeric blend and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were prepared by casting a homogenous and stable aqueous mixture of the three components. CNC used as nanoreinforcing agents were extracted at the nanometric scale from sugarcane bagasse via sulfuric acid hydrolysis; then they were characterized and successfully dispersed into a PVA/CS (50/50, w/w) blend to produce PVA/CS–CNC bio‐nanocomposite films at different CNC contents (0.5, 2.5, 5 wt %). Viscosity measurement of the film‐forming solutions and structural and morphological characterizations of the solid films showed that the CNC are well dispersed into PVA/CS blend forming strong interfacial interactions that provide an enhanced load transfer between polymer chains and CNC, thus improving their properties. The obtained bio‐nanocomposite films are mechanically strong and exhibit improved thermal properties. The addition of 5 wt % CNC within a PVA/CS blend increased the Young's modulus by 105%, the tensile strength by 77%, and the toughness by 68%. Herein, the utilization of Moroccan sugarcane bagasse as raw material to produce high quality CNC has been explored. Additionally, the ability of the as‐isolated CNC to reinforce polymer blends was studied, resulting in the production of the aforementioned bio‐nanocomposite films with improved properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42004. |
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Keywords: | biopolymers and renewable polymers blends composites mechanical properties properties and characterization |
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