Biodegradable Nanocomposite Films Based on Sodium Alginate and Cellulose Nanofibrils

Author

B. Deepa ^1,2

,Eldho Abraham ³

,Laly A. Pothan ^1,* ,Nereida Cordeiro ⁴

,Marisa Faria ⁴

 andSabu Thomas ⁵

¹

Department of Chemistry, Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara-690101, Kerala, India

²

Department of Chemistry, Church Missionary Society(C.M.S) College, Kottayam-686001, Kerala, India

³

Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel

⁴

Faculty of Exact Science and Engineering, University of Madeira, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal

⁵

School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam-686560, Kerala, India

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Marco Morreale

Received: 30 September 2015 / Revised: 30 December 2015 / Accepted: 11 January 2016 / Published: 14 January 2016

Abstract

Biodegradable nanocomposite films were prepared by incorporation of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) into alginate biopolymer using the solution casting method. The effects of CNF content (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 wt %) on mechanical, biodegradability and swelling behavior of the nanocomposite films were determined. The results showed that the tensile modulus value of the nanocomposite films increased from 308 to 1403 MPa with increasing CNF content from 0% to 10%; however, it decreased with further increase of the filler content. Incorporation of CNF also significantly reduced the swelling percentage and water solubility of alginate-based films, with the lower values found for 10 wt % in CNF. Biodegradation studies of the films in soil confirmed that the biodegradation time of alginate/CNF films greatly depends on the CNF content. The results evidence that the stronger intermolecular interaction and molecular compatibility between alginate and CNF components was at 10 wt % in CNF alginate films. View Full-Text

Keywords: cellulose nanofibrils; sodium alginate; nanocomposite films; solvent casting; mechanical properties

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).

MDPI and ACS Style

Deepa, B.; Abraham, E.; Pothan, L.A.; Cordeiro, N.; Faria, M.; Thomas, S. Biodegradable Nanocomposite Films Based on Sodium Alginate and Cellulose Nanofibrils. Materials 2016, 9, 50.

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http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/9/1/50