title: Improvement of polyvinyl alcohol properties by adding nanocrystalline cellulose isolated from banana pseudostems.
abstract: Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) isolated from banana pseudostems fibers (BPF) of the Pacovan variety were used as fillers in a polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) matrix to yield a nanocomposite. The fibers from the external fractions of the BPF were alkaline bleached and hydrolyzed under acidic conditions (H2SO4 62% w/w, 70 min, 45 °C) to obtain CNCs with a length (L) of 135.0 ± 12.0 nm and a diameter (D) of 7.2 ± 1.9 nm to yield an aspect ratio (L/D) of 21.2. The CNCs were applied to PVOH films at different concentrations (0%, 1%, 3%, and 5% w/w, dry basis). With higher concentrations of CNCs, the water-vapor barrier of the films increased, while the optical properties changed very little. Increasing the concentration of the CNCs up to 3% significantly improved the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Centro de Tecnologia, Campus do Pici, Engenharia e Ciência dos Materiais, Bloco 714, CEP 60455-900 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: andre110487@gmail.com.
authors.forename: André Luís S
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Centro de Ciências, Campus do Pici, Departamento de Química Orgânica e Inorgânica, Bloco 940, CEP 60455-760 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: diego@alu.ufc.br.
authors.forename: Diego M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: do Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical - CNPAT, Rua Dra Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, CEP 60511-110 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: men.souza@embrapa.br.
authors.forename: Men de Sá M
authors.initials: Mde S
authors.lastname: Souza Filho
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Algodão - CNPA, Rua Oswaldo Cruz 1143, Centenário, CEP 58428-095 Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. Electronic address: joao.morais@embrapa.br.
authors.forename: João Paulo S
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Morais
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Centro de Ciências, Campus do Pici, Departamento de Química Orgânica e Inorgânica, Bloco 940, CEP 60455-760 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: niedjafittipaldi@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Niedja F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Centro de Ciências, Campus do Pici, Departamento de Química Orgânica e Inorgânica, Bloco 940, CEP 60455-760 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: judith@dqoi.ufc.br.
authors.forename: Judith P A
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Feitosa
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos, Av. das Américas, 29501, CEP 23020-470 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: ana.iraidy@embrapa.br.
authors.forename: Ana Iraidy S
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Brígida
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical - CNPAT, Rua Dra Sara Mesquita 2270, Planalto do Pici, CEP 60511-110 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Electronic address: morsyleide.rosa@embrapa.br.
authors.forename: Morsyleide de F
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D003116:Color; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D028521:Musa / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013227:Steam; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D013227:Steam; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Agribusiness; Casting; Musa sp.; Nanocrystals; Nanotechnology; Packaging