Issue 2, 2011

Transparent bionanocomposites with improved properties prepared from acetylated bacterial cellulose and poly(lactic acid) through a simple approach

Abstract

The preparation and characterization of biocomposite materials with improved properties based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and bacterial cellulose, and, for comparative purposes, vegetal cellulose fibers, both in their pristine form or after acetylation, is reported. The composite materials were obtained through the simple and green mechanical compounding of a PLA matrix and bacterial cellulose nanofibrils (or vegetable fibers), and were characterized by TGA, DSC, tensile assays, DMA, SEM and water uptake. The bionanocomposites obtained from PLA and acetylated bacterial cellulose were particularly interesting, given the considerable improvement in thermal and mechanical properties, as evidenced by the significant increase in both elastic and Young moduli, and in the tensile strength (increments of about 100, 40 and 25%, respectively) at very low nanofiller loadings (up to 6%). These nanocomposites also showed low hygroscopicity and considerable transparency, features reported here for the first time.

Graphical abstract: Transparent bionanocomposites with improved properties prepared from acetylated bacterial cellulose and poly(lactic acid) through a simple approach

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Sep 2010
Accepted
29 Nov 2010
First published
04 Jan 2011

Green Chem., 2011,13, 419-427

Transparent bionanocomposites with improved properties prepared from acetylated bacterial cellulose and poly(lactic acid) through a simple approach

L. C. Tomé, R. J. B. Pinto, E. Trovatti, C. S. R. Freire, A. J. D. Silvestre, C. P. Neto and A. Gandini, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 419 DOI: 10.1039/C0GC00545B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements