Sustainable nanocomposite films based on bacterial cellulose and pullulan

abstract

Bionanocomposites with improved properties based on two microbial polysaccharides, pullulan and bacterial cellulose, were prepared and characterized. The novel materials were obtained through a simple green approach by casting water-based suspensions of pullulan and bacterial cellulose and characterized by TGA, RDX, tensile assays, SEM and AFM. The effect of the addition of glycerol, as a plasticizer, on the properties of the materials was also evaluated. All bionanocomposites showed considerable improvement in thermal stability and mechanical properties, compared to the unfilled pullulan films, evidenced by the significant increase in the degradation temperature (up to 40 A degrees C) and on both Young's modulus and tensile strength (increments of up to 100 and 50%, for films without glycerol and up to 8,000 and 7,000% for those plasticized with glycerol). Moreover, these bionanocomposite films are highly translucent and could be labelled as sustainable materials since they were prepared entirely from renewable resources and could find applications in areas as organic electronics, dry food packaging and in the biomedical field.

keywords

OPTICALLY TRANSPARENT COMPOSITES; MICROBIAL CELLULOSE; NANOFIBERS; BIOPOLYMER; STARCH

subject category

Materials Science; Polymer Science

authors

Trovatti, E; Fernandes, SCM; Rubatat, L; Freire, CSR; Silvestre, AJD; Neto, CP

our authors

acknowledgements

The authors thank FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) for Eliane Trovatti Postdoctoral research grant (SFRH/BPD/63250/2009) and Susana C.M. Fernandes Postdoctoral research grant (SFRH/BPD/70119/2010). The authors also thank FCT for funding within the scope of the

Share this project:

Related Publications

We use cookies for marketing activities and to offer you a better experience. By clicking “Accept Cookies” you agree with our cookie policy. Read about how we use cookies by clicking "Privacy and Cookie Policy".