Abstract
Chitin-nanofibrils are obtained in water suspension at low concentration, as nanoparticles normally are, to avoid their aggregation. The addition of the fibrils in molten PLA during extrusion is thus difficult and disadvantageous. In the present paper, the use of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is proposed to prepare a solid pre-composite by water evaporation. The pre-composite is then added to PLA in the extruder to obtain transparent nanocomposites. The amount of PEG and chitin nanofibrils was varied in the nanocomposites to compare the reinforcement due to nanofibrils and plasticization due to the presence of PEG, as well as for extrapolating, where possible, the properties of reinforcement due to chitin nanofibrils exclusively. Thermal and morphological properties of nanocomposites were also investigated. This study concluded that chitin nanofibrils, added as reinforcing filler up to 12% by weight, do not alter the properties of the PLA based material; hence, this additive can be used in bioplastic items mainly exploiting its intrinsic anti-microbial and skin regenerating properties.
Highlights
Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, having global reserves of 100 billion tons [1]
This paper showed the good potential of Chitin nanofibrils (CNs) to improve mechanical performance, but at the same time, the difficulty of dispersing them at the nano-metric level and homogeneously in the Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix
It is interesting to note that, in the case where injection molded products are in a hot and humid environment, the surface of the PLA can degrade by hydrolysis, leaving the chitin nanofibrils to emerge on the surface
Summary
Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, having global reserves of 100 billion tons [1]. Li et al [42], aiming at obtaining rigid nanocomposites, used high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) or PEG and investigated the flexural and impact properties of composites with NC in the range 10–40%, observing a reinforcing effect of CN. In all these studies, the exigence of effectively dispersing the CNs in PLA led to the necessity of using both a plasticizer and chitin nanofibrils. TThhee ppuurree PPLLAA iiss bbrriittttllee aanndd sshhoowwss aa hhiigghh vvaalluuee ooff YYoouunngg’’ss
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