Material properties and water resistance of inorganic–organic polymer coated cellulose paper and nanopaper

Abstract

Cellulose-based materials represent a renewable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly alternative to plastic from fossil resources. Nanopaper is a strong and lightweight material formed from cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). Paper and nanopaper have been considered as excellent alternatives to plastics for use in agriculture and for packaging applications. However, common for both paper and nanopaper is their hydrophilic character, and consequently, poor water-resistance properties. ORMOCER®s are a class of inorganic–organic polymers with excellent barrier and protective properties used for a range of coating applications. Here we present ORMOCER®-coated paper and nanopaper. The coated papers and nanopapers are characterized, both in terms of their morphology, hydrophobicity, and mechanical properties. We demonstrate that the pressure used during the pressing and drying of paper and nanopaper influence their tear and tensile—properties, and that the morphology of the coated nanopaper differs significantly from that of the coated paper. While the ORMOCER® was impregnated within the porous network of the paper, a well-defined two-layered morphology was obtained with the coated nanopaper. Further, the biodegradability of the nanopaper with and without coating was assessed. The degradation study demonstrated that both the pressure used during the pressing and drying of the nanopaper, and the composition of the ORMOCER®, influenced the rate of degradation. Taken together, ORMOCER®-coated paper and nanopaper are promising for the preparation of materials that are both water-resistant, renewable, and biodegradable.

Eco-Friendly Poly (Butylene Adipate-co-Terephthalate) Coated Bi-Layered Films: An Approach to Enhance Mechanical and Barrier Properties

“…Water angle contact is generally used to evaluate surface wettability. For uncoated paper, the contact angle (after 1 s) presented a lower value (67.40 • ), which was expected due to the hydrophilic nature of the cellulose and the porous structure of the paper [57,58]. After 120 s, the drop spread over the hydrophilic surface of the paper, decreasing its value to 30.19 • .…”

Effects of Biodegradable Mulch on Soil Microorganisms

“…Cellulose is one of the most abundant naturally occurring organic polymers and is a naturally occurring polysaccharide of D-glucose linked by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds (Praveen et al, 2019). Like starch, cellulose molecules have strong hydrogen bonding between them, are highly crystalline (Xue et al, 2022), and are insoluble in common solvents (Solberg et al, 2023), which makes it difficult to be plasticized and film-forming (Figure 2). Therefore, it is necessary to modify or blend cellulosic mulch materials in the preparation of cellulosic mulch materials (Liu et al, 2008).…”