Advanced nanocellulose hybrid fillers for sustainable polypropylene biomaterials with enhanced oxygen barrier properties

Abstract

Research was undertaken on the design and preparation of advanced polymer biomaterials containing innovative nanocellulose hybrid fillers with functional physicochemical properties, characterized by high mechanical strength, enhanced thermal resistance, and improved gas barrier properties, which are important in the packaging industry. Such innovative polymer composite nanomaterials with renewable fillers, which will reduce the consumption of petroleum raw materials, which is also directly related to the reduction of energy consumption. Novel TiO2-ZnO/nanocellulose hybrid systems were prepared by a solvothermal method, and their structural, textural, morphological, chemical composition, and thermal properties were evaluated. Polymer composites with nanocellulose synthesized using enzymatic hydrolysis and with hybrid fillers, were obtained by two-step extrusion. Various techniques were used to determine the supermolecular structure and nucleation activity of the biomaterials, barrier tests and mechanical properties were also carried out. It was found that the composites containing hybrid fillers exhibited increased nucleation activity, which favored the formation of a pseudohexagonal polymorphic variety of the polymer matrix, providing high tensile strength while maintaining high flexibility. In addition, the use of novel hybrid fillers made it possible to achieve higher barrier properties against oxygen and water vapor in composite films. A significant achievement is the finding of a previously unrecorded relationship between the shaping of supermolecular structure (polymorphism, nucleation) and physicochemical properties (mechanical, barrier), which is of great significance for the design of modern packaging.