abstract
New nanocomposite films based on different chitosan matrices (two chitosans with different DPs and one water soluble derivative) and bacterial cellulose were prepared by a fully green procedure by casting a water based suspension of chitosan and bacterial cellulose nanofibrils. The films were characterized by several techniques, namely SEM, AFM, X-ray diffraction, TGA, tensile assays and visible spectroscopy. They were highly transparent, flexible and displayed better mechanical properties than the corresponding unfilled chitosan films. These new renewable nanocomposite materials also presented reasonable thermal stability and low O(2) permeability.
keywords
POLYMER BLENDS; MEMBRANE; PERMEABILITY; ENHANCEMENT; COMPOSITES; NANOFIBERS; STRENGTH; BEHAVIOR
subject category
Chemistry; Science & Technology - Other Topics
authors
Fernandes, SCM; Oliveira, L; Freire, CSR; Silvestre, AJD; Neto, CP; Gandini, A; Desbrieres, J
our authors
Alessandro Gandini
Researcher
Armando Jorge Domingues Silvestre
Full professor
Carlos Pascoal Neto
Raiz Director
Carmen Sofia da Rocha Freire Barros
Coordinating Researcheracknowledgements
The authors thank Norwegian Chitosan AS. (Norway) for their generous gift of chitosan (LCH). The authors acknowledge Laurent Rubatat and Sylvie Blanc (IPREM, Pau, France) for their contribution on AFM and spectroscopy experiments. The authors are also grateful to Marcia Neves and Ricardo Pinto (CICECO, University of Aveiro, Portugal) for performing XRD and SEM experiments. Susana Fernandes and Lucia Oliveira thank the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Portugal) for Scientific Research grants (SFRH/BD/41388/2007, SFRH/BPD/38515/2007, respectively).