Thermal, Mechanical, Swelling and Barrier Properties of Nanocellulose-Based Nanocomposites

Cellulosic nanoparticles generally known as nanocellulose, have got interest from the scientiﬁc community because of their biodegradability, strength, and other characteristics. Sustainability and green issues continue as top priorities for many businesses and individuals, stimulating the search for nonpetroleum-based structural materials like bionanocomposites that are biodegradable, high performing, and lightweight.

Cellulose Structure

So it can be said that because of its high biocompatibility, bio-degradability, low-cost and easy availability, cellulose finds application in disparate areas of research. Cellulose is the most abundant and renewable biopolymer in nature. It is the main constituent of plant cell walls in wood, cotton, hemp and other plant-based materials and plays an essential role in maintaining plant structural phase. Cellulose is also synthesized by marine animals such as tunicates, algae, fungi and several bacteria species. Cellulose is a carbohydrate homopolymer consisting of β-d-glucopyranose units joint together by β-1,4-glycosidic linkage. Cellulose fibrils are highly insoluble and inelastic but able to provide mechanical support to the tissues where they resides.

Crystalline cellulose has interesting mechanical properties for use in material applications. Its tensile strength is about 500MPa, similar to that of aluminium. Its stiffness is about 140–220 GPa. Films made from nanocellulose have high strength (over 200 MPa), high stiffness (around 20 GPa) and high strain(12%). Its strength/weight ratio is 8 times that of stainless steel. Fibers made from nanocellulose have high strength up to 1.57 GPa and stiffness up to 86 GPa.

Because of the positive properties given above, nanocellulose has found application in different research fields such as the biomedical, energy, environmental and water related fields.

Nanocellulose can be used in the area of paper and paperboard manufacture. Nanocelluloses are expected to enhance the fiber-fiber bond strength and, hence, have a strong reinforcement effect on paper materials.

As described above the properties of the nanocellulose makes an interesting material for reinforcing plastics. Nanocellulose improves the mechanical properties of, for example, thermosetting resins, starch-based matrixes, soy protein, rubber latex, poly(lactide). The composite applications may be for use as coatings and films, paints, foams, packaging.

Nanocellulose can be used as a low calorie replacement for today’s carbohydrate additives used as thickeners, flavour carriers and suspension stabilizers in a wide variety of food products and is useful for producing fillings, crushes, chips, wafers, soups, gravies, puddings etc. The food applications were early recognised as a highly interesting application field for nanocellulose due to the rheological behaviour of the nanocellulose gel.

Nanocellulose can be used as super water absorbent material.

Freeze-dried nanocellulose aerogels used in sanitary napkins, tampons, diapers or as wound dressing.

The use of nanocellulose as a composite coating agent in cosmetics e.g. for hair, eyelashes, eyebrows or nails.

You can get nanocellulose depending on your research needs from the link given below:

https://nanografi.com/

Carbon Nanotube Threads

Since its discovery, carbon nanotube (CNT) has attracted many interests in different technology fields due to its extraordinary properties. Properties such as, high strength, great electrical and thermal conductivity, light weight and flexibility made CNT one of the best materials for wide range of applications. However, from its name it can be understood that CNT is a nanoscale material which is very small to be applied for the production of daily products. Researchers all around the world are working on finding methods and techniques which could produce new materials with the extraordinary properties of CNT. Image retrieved from: https://worldindustrialreporter.com/strong-light-flexible-carbon-nanotubes-threads-with-ultrahigh-conductivity/ One of these research is focusing on the production of high strength threads that can be used in the manufacturing of fabrics, cables and ropes. An international group of scientists were able to produce a flexible conductive thread th...

Multi Walled Carbon Nanotube Dispersions

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted enormous attention in recent years due to its unique physical, electronic, optical and potential applications in materials science and nanotechnology. The van der Waals interaction between tubes, however, makes CNTs aggregate in most organic solvents and aqueous solutions, which is the major limitation of their practical applications.Various approaches have been studied to alter the CNT surface to promote the dispersion of individual nanotubes and prevent their reaggregation. On the basis of this widely accepted viewpoint, numerous techniques such as covalent bonding, surfactant coating and polymer wrapping have been developed for surface modification or sidewall functionalization.These methods, however, are complicated, time-consuming and cause permanent damage to the CNT structure and properties of the surface, which produces residues of the dispersion agent for the final product. Figure: Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) It ha...

Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder and Applications

General Information about Magnesium Oxide Magnesium oxide which has the chemical formula of MgO, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of Magnesium. It is a white powder at room temperature. Magnesium Oxide has very high melting point (2825 o C) and boiling point (3600 o C). Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder an...

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