Exploiting poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) and cellulose nanofibrils modified with latex nanoparticles for the development of biodegradable nanocomposites

Abstract

This study reports the development of nanocomposites based on poly(ɛ‐caprolactone) (PCL) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) modified with cationic latex nanoparticles. The physical adsorption of these water‐based latexes on the surface of CNF was studied as an environment‐friendly strategy to enhance the compatibility of CNF with a hydrophobic polymeric matrix. The latexes are composed of amphiphilic block copolymers based on cationic poly(N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate‐co‐methacrylic acid) as the hydrophilic block, and either poly(methyl methacrylate) or poly(n‐butyl methacrylate) as the hydrophobic block. The simple and practical melt‐mixing of PCL‐ and latex‐modified CNF yielded white homogeneous nanocomposites with complete embedment of the nanofibrils in the thermoplastic matrix. All nanocomposites are semicrystalline materials with good mechanical properties (Young's modulus = 43.6–52.3 MPa) and thermal stability up to 335–340°C. Degradation tests clearly showed that the nanocomposites slowly degrade in the presence of lipase‐type enzyme. These PCL/CNF‐latex nanocomposite materials show great promise as future environmentally friendly packaging materials. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:1342–1353, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Effect of the Micronization of Pulp Fibers on the Properties of Green Composites

“…Since cellulose has high affinity for water [ 51 , 52 ], all composites showed higher water absorptions that increased with the growing fiber contents, which is not surprising given there is unanimity in the fact that increasing the content of the hydrophilic portion of the composites leads to an increased water absorption [ 22 , 45 ]. Moreover, all composites followed the same uptake pattern: a rapid increase during the first few days of immersion and stabilization after reaching saturation [ 53 ]. It is also noticeable that composites with PHBs had higher water-uptakes than composites with PLAs.…”

Natural Polymers-Based Materials: A Contribution to a Greener Future

“…Engineering natural polymers-based materials derived from polysaccharides and proteins is the main objective of the work carried out by the BioPol4fun research group. In the last decade, we have been intensively exploiting cellulose [ 63 , 64 ], nanocelluloses (e.g., bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) [ 61 , 65 , 66 ], nanofibrillated cellulose (CNFs) [ 67 , 68 ] and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) [ 69 ]), chitosan [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ], pullulan [ 71 , 74 , 75 , 76 ], starch [ 68 ], hyaluronic acid [ 77 , 78 ], alginate [ 79 ], fucoidan [ 80 , 81 ], agar [ 82 ], lysozyme [ 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ], and gelatin [ 87 ] ( Figure 1 ) to fabricate films [ 85 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 ], membranes [ 81 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ], (nano)composites reference [ 64 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ], coatings [ 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 ], nanosystems [ …”

“…Cellulose is considered the most abundant biopolymer on the planet, being a constituent of most green plants and algae, and naturally secreted in its pure form by some strains of non-pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Komagataeibacter ) [ 66 , 110 ]. This polysaccharide is an eminent feedstock for materials development and can be employed in its native state [ 63 , 64 ] as cellulose derivatives, or in the form of nanofibrils (CNFs) reference [ 85 , 86 , 88 , 89 , 98 , 100 , 101 , 111 ], nanorods (CNCs) [ 69 ], or three-dimensional hydrogel pellicles (BNC) [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 81 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 ] to manufacture a wide range of materials, as shown in Table 1 . Therefore, the vast majority of the works of our research group entails cellulose nanoforms, i.e., cellulose with at least one dimension in the nanoscale, for the development of nanocomposites [ 98 , ...…”

Antimicrobial and Conductive Nanocellulose-Based Films for Active and Intelligent Food Packaging

“…The pervasive cellulose biopolymer is one of the most studied natural materials due to its renewability, unique set of properties and potential use in the most varied fields of application [1]. In fact, the domains of research are even broader when considering the nanoscale forms of cellulose, such as cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) [2], with applications in catalysis [3], printed electronics [4], supercapacitors [5,6], sensing and biosensing [7], photonics, films, foams, nanocomposites and medical devices [8,9,10], and packaging materials [11,12], among many other examples [2,13].…”