Abstract
Over the past decades, research has escalated on the use of polylactic acid (PLA) as a replacement for petroleum-based polymers. This is due to its valuable properties, such as renewability, biodegradability, biocompatibility and good thermomechanical properties. Despite possessing good mechanical properties comparable to conventional petroleum-based polymers, PLA suffers from some shortcomings such as low thermal resistance, heat distortion temperature and rate of crystallization, thus different fillers have been used to overcome these limitations. In the framework of environmentally friendly processes and products, there has been growing interest on the use of cellulose nanomaterials viz. cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and nanofibers (CNF) as natural fillers for PLA towards advanced applications other than short-term packaging and biomedical. Cellulosic nanomaterials are renewable in nature, biodegradable, eco-friendly and they possess high strength and stiffness. In the case of eco-friendly processes, various conventional processing techniques, such as melt extrusion, melt-spinning, and compression molding, have been used to produce PLA composites. This review addresses the critical factors in the manufacturing of PLA-cellulosic nanomaterials by using conventional techniques and recent advances needed to promote and improve the dispersion of the cellulosic nanomaterials. Different aspects, including morphology, mechanical behavior and thermal properties, as well as comparisons of CNC- and CNF-reinforced PLA, are also discussed.
Highlights
Over the past decades, there has been a tremendous interest in the utilization of nano-sized particles, such as layered silicates, carbon nanomaterials and metals, as suitable reinforcements of different polymeric materials towards various advanced applications [1,2,3]
This study indicates that a selection of appropriate hydrolyzing acids for the extraction of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) has to be carefully considered with regard to the desired characteristics, which could further affect the performance of the nanocomposite materials
The results clearly indicate that the thermal this study, it was found that the acids was ascribed to the stable bond formation between the carbon and substituted anion
Summary
There has been a tremendous interest in the utilization of nano-sized particles, such as layered silicates, carbon nanomaterials and metals, as suitable reinforcements of different polymeric materials towards various advanced applications [1,2,3]. Over the past couple of years, the reinforcement of biopolymers (e.g., polylactic acid (PLA), poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(butylene adipate terephthalate) (PBAT), polyhydroxy alkanoates (PHAs), etc.) has received tremendous interest as alternative substitution for petroleum-based polymers towards a wide variety of applications because of the stringent environmental legislations [4,9,10,11,12] in place in several countries This is owing to their unique features, such as eco-friendliness, biocompatibility and ease of processability. This review gives an overview on the preparation of PLA/CNMs nanocomposites by using thermoplastic processing technique and their properties by highlighting the differences among cellulose nanomaterials, CNFs and CNCs. PLA is an aliphatic polyester biopolymer that can be derived from renewable sources, such as corn, potato, molasses, tapioca, cane sugar, and rice [16].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
