Abstract
In recent times, the attention of scientific community has been focusing on the replacement of petroleum-based polymers by others more environmentally friendly. In this sense, bionanocomposites based on glycerol-plasticized wheat starch and reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were prepared by a solvent-casting process to obtain environmentally friendly films. The plasticization process was proven to be complete in the conditions used and no residual crystallinity was observed in any case. The incorporation of CNCs leads to materials with increased rigidity (about 1000% increment in modulus) which is related to a good filler-matrix interaction and to the formation of a rigid crystalline network of cellulose. This fact allowed also to improve the moisture resistance and the barrier properties (in both, oxygen and water vapor as permeant) of the bionanocomposite films due to the formation of a tortuous path, which prevent the gas diffusion. Moreover, the thermal stability of films was not affected by the filler incorporation. These improvements in the properties make these films susceptible to be used in short-time applications in the food packaging industry.
Highlights
The reduction and elimination of petroleum-based plastic waste has become a matter of concern for the environment during the last decades
As the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) content increases to 5 wt%, the dispersion inside the matrix gets worse leading to the appearance of large filler aggregates
Bionanocomposite films were obtained from wheat starch and reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals
Summary
The reduction and elimination of petroleum-based plastic waste has become a matter of concern for the environment during the last decades. The quantity of residues generated is increasing with the development of the global daily activity. Their poor biodegradability makes difficult their reduction or elimination, leading to their storage for large periods of time. In addition to the waste problem, the low availability as well as the exploitation of fossil resources makes necessary to find an alternative. The preparation of completely biodegradable polymeric materials, which come from renewable natural resources and have a high availability in the environment, can be the perfect alternative to replace the polymers from fossil sources (Reddy et al 2013). Biopolymers with similar properties to the synthetic ones have not been obtained yet so the enhancement of their properties continues to be an objective to reach
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