The aim of this paper is to report the impact of the addition of cellulose nanocrystals on the barrier properties and on the migration behaviour of poly(lactic acid), PLA, based nano-biocomposites prepared by the solvent casting method. Their microstructure, crystallinity, barrier and overall migration properties were investigated. Pristine (CNC) and surfactant-modified cellulose nanocrystals (...

Cellulose fibers, cell wall fragments and cellulose microfibrils can be used as reinforced materials for biocomposite manufacture. Understanding nano-mechanical properties of those materials will be very useful to show their full theoretical potential. Nanoindentation testing is a technique that determines the mechanical properties of a material in the sub-micron/nano scale. The test involves p...

The preparation of cellulose nanostructures is considered in this paper. Cellulose nanoparticles(nano cellulose) were extracted from cinnamon for the first time. The chemically-induceddestruction strategy based on controlled strong acid hydrolysis treatment was used for dissolutionof lignin and fragmentation of cellulose to nano sized structure. The products werecharacterized by scanning electr...

Bacterial cellulose, an exopolysaccharide produced by some bacteria, has unique structural and mechanical properties and is highly pure as compared to plant cellulose. This article presents a critical review of the available information on the bacterial cellulose with special emphasis on its fermentative production and applications. Information on the biosynthetic pathway of bacterial cellulose...

Because of their wide abundance, their renewable and environmentally benign nature, and their outstanding mechanical properties, a great deal of attention has been paid recently to cellulosic nanofibrillar structures as components in nanocomposites. A first major challenge has been to find efficient ways to liberate cellulosic fibrils from different source materials, including wood, agricultura...

Optically transparent membranes from bacterial cellulose (BC)/polycaprolactone (PCL) have been prepared by impregnation of PCL acetone solution into dried BC membranes. UV-Vis measurements showed an increase on transparency in BC/PCL membrane when compared with pristine BC. The good transparency of the BC/PCL can be related to the presence of BC nanofibers associated with deposit of PCL nano-si...

This study involved a detailed investigation of a novel approach to reducing naturally occurring cellulose fibers into nanofibers solely by the use of aqueous counter collision (ACC) without any chemical modification. In this process, equivalent aqueous suspensions of cellulose are ejected from dual nozzles and collide at high speed and pressure. Even a few repetitions of the collision process ...

TiCl4/nano-cellulose as a biodegradable and eco-friendly Lewis acid catalyst was synthesized via reaction of nano-cellulose and TiCl4. This catalyst was characterized and used for synthesis of asymmetric highly functionalized tetrahydropyridines via a five-component condensation reaction of p-substituted anilines, aldehydes and ethyl acetoacetate under solvent-free condition. Simple methodology...