Effects of molecular weight and crystallizability of polylactide on the cellulose nanocrystal dispersion quality in their nanocomposites.

This study investigated how cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) dispersion quality and its percolation network formation could be influenced when using polylactide (PLA) with various molecular weights and crystallizability. In this context, systematic rheological experiments were conducted on PLA/CNC nanocomposites prepared through solution casting method using dimethylformamide (DMF) as the solvent. It was found that lower CNC percolation concentrations could be obtained when a PLA matrix possesses lower molecular weight as the shorter chains and CNCs interpenetration could be facilitated during their dissolution in the solvent.

Polylactide cellulose-based nanocomposites.

Among biopolymers, polylactide (PLA) is considered as the most appropriate substitute for the petroleum-based polymers which are widely used in various commodity and engineering applications. PLA, however, also suffers from series of shortcomings such as slow crystallization rate and low melt strength which result in poor processability, formability and foamability which substantially limit its production and usage. Recently, the use of biobased/biodegradable cellulose nanoparticles such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF), and bacterial nanocellulose (BC) have been proposed to manufacture fully green PLA-based biocomposites while they could resolve some of the noted drawbacks of PLA.