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Mechanically robust, flame-retardant and anti-bacterial nanocomposite films comprised of cellulose nanofibrils and magnesium hydroxide nanoplatelets in a regenerated cellulose matrix

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Abstract

Nanocomposite films consisting of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), magnesium hydroxide nanoplatelets (MHNPs) and regenerated cellulose were prepared via simple blending and casting processes. The CNFs were obtained from bamboo pulp by ultrasonic treatment coupled with high shear homogenization. The morphology, structure and properties of the nanocomposite films were comprehensively analyzed using various characterization techniques, including the scanning electron microscope, digital microscope, limiting oxygen index (LOI), micro-scale combustion calorimetry, antibacterial assays, tensile testing, etc. When the MHNP content was optimized to 30 wt%, the nanocomposite film exhibited the best overall properties. The LOI of the composite film increased from 20.0 (0 wt% MHNPs) to 32.7 (30 wt% MHNPs), making it a flame-retardant material in air. In addition, the film containing 30 wt% MHNPs showed excellent antibacterial activity. However, the increase in MHNP content would result in gradual deterioration of the films’ mechanical properties. However, the incorporation of CNFs could significantly suppress this trend. The present work provided a promising pathway for manufacturing multifunctional and high-performance cellulose-based composite films, which were potentially useful for a variety of packaging materials, especially in the biomedical and food packaging fields.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Natural Science Foundation of China (51303112 and 51203105) and Young Scholar Fund of Sichuan University (2012SCU11074) for financial support of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Jiangqi Zhao, Canhui Lu, Xu He & Wei Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Oral Disease, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Ximu Zhang & Rui Tu

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  1. Jiangqi Zhao
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  2. Ximu Zhang
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  3. Rui Tu
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  4. Canhui Lu
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  5. Xu He
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  6. Wei Zhang
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Correspondence to Wei Zhang.

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Zhao, J., Zhang, X., Tu, R. et al. Mechanically robust, flame-retardant and anti-bacterial nanocomposite films comprised of cellulose nanofibrils and magnesium hydroxide nanoplatelets in a regenerated cellulose matrix. Cellulose 21, 1859–1872 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0255-x

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