Journal
POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY
Volume 96, Issue 9, Pages 1631-1638Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2011.06.006
Keywords
Hydrolytic degradation; Cellulose nanowhiskers; Poly(D,L-Lactide); Bionanocomposite
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Funding
- CAPES [04/2008]
- FAPEMIG [021/2008]
- Pro-reitoria de Pesquisa-UFMG
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This paper reports the preparation of bionanocomposites based on poly(D,L-lactide) and cellulose nanowhiskers (PDLLA/CNWs) and studies the influence of the CNWs on the hydrolytic degradation behavior of the polylactide. The hydrolytic degradation process was studied in a phosphate buffer medium through the sample weight loss and also by FTIR, DSC and TGA measurements. The presence of CNWs induced a strong delay in the hydrolytic degradation of the PDLLA, even when the concentration of the nanofillers was only 1%. This effect was related to the physical barrier created by the highlycrystalline CNWs that inhibited water absorption and hence retarded the hydrolytic degradation of the bionanocomposites. In addition, the incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals in the PDLLA also made the biopolymer more thermally stable, increasing the initial temperature of mass loss even after the degradation in phosphate medium. The results presented here show the possibility of controlling the biodegradability and prolonging the service life of a polylactide through the incorporation of a small quantity of nanofillers obtained from renewable materials. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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