Preparation and study of physical and mechanical behavior of polylactic acid bionanocomposites reinforced with Cellulose Nanocrystal and silver nanoparticles

Biodegradable compounds with high mechanical and thermal properties are one of the intersting research topics. Polylactic acid is an aliphatic polyester with high biodegradability and flexibility. It, however, suffers from several weaknesses such as high permeability to water vapor and gases, low glass transition temperature, poor thermal stability and brittleness which can be improved by the incorporation of nano-scale fillers giving rise to bionanocomposites. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the simultaneous incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals and nanosilver on the mechanical, thermal and water vapor permeability behavior of polylactic acid-based films.

Polylactic acid films and their bionanocomposites containing different levels of cellulose nanocrystals (0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 g) and nanosilver (0.01 g) were prepared by solution casting method. To improve compatibility and miscibility of the polymer, cellulose nanocrystals were reacted with acetic anhydride and modified. FTIR spectroscopy, tensile test, thermal properties (DSC), migration test and antibacterial properties were used to study the properties of the samples. The water vapor permeability of the samples were also measured.

The addition of cellulose nanocrystals, increased the glass transition temperature (Tg) and melting point (Tm) of the samples. The presence of cellulose nanocrystals increased the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of the bionanocomposite relative to pure polylactic acid. With the addition of cellulose nanocrystals, permeability was reduced by about 25%. As the amount of cellulose nanocrystals increased, the swelling and water absorption of the samples increased significantly. The migration rate of the samples also decreased after the addition of nanocellulose.