Preparation and properties of a novel porous poly(lactic acid) composite reinforced with bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers

In this work, rod-like bacterial cellulose nanowhisker (BCNW) was produced by sulfuric acid hydrolysis and then a porous polylactic acid (PLA) composite reinforced with 5 wt% BCNW was prepared by solvent casting and freeze drying. The morphology of BCNW and BCNW/PLA composite was observed by TEM and SEM. In addition, mechanical properties, wettability, and water absorption of the composite were examined. It is demonstrated that the incorporation of BCNW in PLA improves the pore structure and porosity. The BCNW/PLA composite shows significantly higher water uptake and hydrophilicity with respect to PLA. Mechanical testing reveals significant improvements in tensile strength and modulus and compressive strength and a decrease in strain at break as compared to neat PLA. The porous BCNW/PLA composite may find applications in the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery.