Development and characterization of bionanocomposites based on poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) and cellulose nanocrystals for packaging applications |
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| Authors: | Irene T Seoane Elena Fortunati Debora Puglia Viviana P Cyras Liliana B Manfredi |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA), UNMdP, CONICET, Facultad de Ingeniería, Mar del Plata, Argentina;2. University of Perugia, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Terni, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)‐based bionanocomposites were prepared using various percentages of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) by a solution casting method. CNCs were prepared from microcrystalline cellulose using sulfuric acid hydrolysis. The influence of CNCs on PHB properties was evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and tensile testing. Vapor permeation and light transmission of the materials were also measured. Differential scanning calorimetric tests demonstrated that CNCs were effective PHB nucleation agents. Tensile strength and Young's modulus of PHB increased with increasing CNC concentration. Moreover, the PHB/CNC bionanocomposites exhibited reduced water vapor permeation compared to neat PHB and had better UV barrier properties than commodity polymers such as polypropylene. It was found that nanocomposites with 6 wt% of CNCs had the optimum balance among thermal, mechanical and barrier properties. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry |
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| Keywords: | cellulose nanocrystals poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) biodegradable polymers nanocomposites |
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