title: Biodegradability and mechanical properties of reinforced starch nanocomposites using cellulose nanofibers.
abstract: In this study the effects of chemical modification of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) on the biodegradability and mechanical properties of reinforced thermoplastic starch (TPS) nanocomposites was evaluated. The CNFs were modified using acetic anhydride and the nanocomposites were fabricated by solution casting from corn starch with glycerol/water as the plasticizer and 10 wt% of either CNFs or acetylated CNFs (ACNFs). The morphology, water absorption (WA), water vapor permeability rate (WVP), tensile, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and fungal degradation properties of the obtained nanocomposites were investigated. The results demonstrated that the addition of CNFs and ACNFs significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites and reduced the WVP and WA of the TPS. The effects were more pronounced for the CNFs than the ACNFs. The DMA showed that the storage modulus was improved, especially for the CNFs/TPS nanocomposite. Compared with the neat TPS, the addition of nanofibers improved the degradation rate of the nanocomposite and particularly ACNFs reduced degradation rate of the nanocomposite toward fungal degradation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 31585-4313, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babaee
authors.affiliation: Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 31585-4313, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jonoobi
authors.affiliation: Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 31585-4313, Karaj, Iran. Electronic address: hamzeh@ut.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Yahya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamzeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Technologies, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), P.O. Box 15815-3538, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashori
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001711:Biotransformation; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010539:Permeability; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013227:Steam; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D013227:Steam; D002482:Cellulose; D013213:Starch
keywords: Fungal degradation; Scanning electron microscopy (SEM); Thermoplastic starch; Water vapor permeability