Biocomposites from Polylactic Acid and Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibers Obtained by Mechanical Treatment

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNF), obtained by the mechanical disintegration of BC pellicles, were used without any surface treatment for the fabrication of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites by a melt compounding process. The addition of BCNF in different amounts improved both the Young's modulus and tensile strength of PLA. A 22% increase in these properties was observed in the nanocomposite with 2 wt.% nanofibers, due to the BCNF network formed at this concentration and characterized by atomic force microscopy. BCNF addition also increased the crystallinity and thermal stability of PLA, which were evaluated by thermal analysis. Due to the high purity of BCNF and the environmental friendliness of melt processing, it was concluded that PLA/BCNF nanocomposites can be designed for biomedical field and food packaging.

Bacterial Nanocellulose from Side-Streams of Kombucha Beverages Production: Preparation and Physical-Chemical Properties

“…Due to its mechanical strength, nanocellulose is of high interest as nanofiller or as component in nanocomposites, where even small amounts less than 5% drastically increase the resistance of final materials [ 11 , 18 , 56 , 57 ]. Besides mechanical strength, other physical properties made cellulose and its nanoderivatives to be the most studied biopolymer: the high aspect ratio, high surface area of nanostructured forms, low thermal expansion, flexibility (especially for bacterial nanofibrils), transparency, polar nature and hydrophilicity, susceptibility to magnetic, electric, and shear field, large piezoelectric response for cellulose nanocrystals, at which can be added biocompatibility, low toxicity, and renewability [ 1 , 10 , 58 ].…”

Nanocomposites Based on Poly(lactic acid) and Bacterial Cellulose Acetylated by an α-Hydroxyacid Catalyzed Route

“…Tabla 6.1 Propiedades térmicas del PLA y sus nanocompuestos con BNC nativa y acetiladas (GS= 0,25±0,02; 0,49±0,03; 0,61±0,02). (Gan , Nechwatal, Frankenfeld, & Schlufter, 2012;Ludde, Pivsa-Art, Sirisansaneeyakul, & Pechyen, 2014;Panaitescu et al, 2017). Por otra parte, durante el segundo calentamiento el nanocompuesto con la BNC con menor grado de acetilación (GS=0,25±0,02), mostró picos de cristalización y fusión mucho menos intensos y a una mayor temperatura de cristalización en frío.…”

Mechanical and physical properties of boards made from recycled paper

“…Three-dimensional (3D) printing commonly utilizes PLA as a filament, and PLA is also widely used in biomedicine. The biodegradability of PLA in special composting conditions make it more attractive than other plastic materials (Panaitescu et al 2017).…”