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- Eguees, Itziar, et al.
(författare)
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Corncob arabinoxylan for new materials
- 2014
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Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - : Elsevier BV. - 0144-8617 .- 1879-1344. ; 102, s. 12-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Corncob agricultural waste was used as a source of arabinoxylan for preparation of films. Three arabinoxylan samples were prepared: crude extract (CCAX), purified by a washing step, and purified by bleaching CCAX. Films prepared with untreated CCAX were water soluble, yellowish in color and had poor mechanical properties. After the purification processes the Young's modulus increased from similar to 293 MPa to similar to 1400-1600 MPa, and strength was improved from similar to 9 MPa to around 53 MPa, while the strain at break was kept at similar to 8% both in untreated and purified CCAX. The contact angle was increased from similar to 21.3 degrees to 67-74 degrees after washing or bleaching CCAX. Acetylation of bleached CCAX showed the highest thermal resistance (325 degrees C), had low T-g (125 degrees C) and a high contact angle (80 degrees), and its films were stronger (strength similar to 67 MPa; Young's modulus similar to 2241 MPa) and more flexible (similar to 13%). These characteristics make purified CCAX a suitable material to be used as a matrix for film applications.
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- Fernandes, Susana C. M., et al.
(författare)
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Exploiting Mycosporines as Natural Molecular Sunscreens for the Fabrication of UV-Absorbing Green Materials
- 2015
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 7:30, s. 16558-16564
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ultraviolet radiations have many detrimental effects in living organisms that challenge the stability and function of cellular structures. UV exposure also alters the properties and durability of materials and affects their lifetime. It is becoming increasingly important to develop new biocompatible and environmentally friendly materials to address these issues. Inspired by the strategy developed by fish, algae, and microorganisms exposed to UV radiations in confined ecosystems, we have constructed novel UV-protective materials that exclusively consist of natural compounds. Chitosan was chosen as the matrix for grafting mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids as the functional components of the active materials. Here, we show that these materials are biocompatible, photoresistant, and thermoresistant, and exhibit a highly efficient absorption of both UV-A and UV-B radiations. Thus, they have the potential to provide an efficient protection against both types of UV radiations and overcome several shortfalls of the current UV-protective products. In practice, the same concept can be applied to other biopolymers than chitosan and used to produce multifunctional materials. Therefore, it has a great potential to be exploited in a broad range of applications in living organisms and nonliving systems.
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- Herrera, Natalia, et al.
(författare)
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Functionalized blown films of plasticized polylactic acid/chitin nanocomposite : Preparation and characterization
- 2016
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Ingår i: Materials & design. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-1275 .- 1873-4197. ; 92, s. 846-852
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bionanocomposite films prepared with melt compounding and film blowing were evaluated for packaging applications. The nanocomposite masterbatch with 75 wt% polylactic acid (PLA), 5 wt% chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) and 20 wt% glycerol triacetate plasticizer (GTA) was melt compounded and then diluted to 1 wt% ChNCs with PLA and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) prior to film blowing. The morphological, mechanical, optical, thermal and barrier properties of the blown nanocomposite films were studied and compared with the reference material without ChNCs. The addition of 1 wt% ChNCs increased the tear strength by 175% and the puncture strength by 300%. Additionally, the small amount of chitin nanocrystals affected the glass transition temperature (Tg), which increased 4 °C compared with the reference material and slightly enhanced the films degree of crystallinity. The chitin nanocomposite also had lower fungal activity and lower electrostatic attraction between the film surfaces; leading to easy opening of the plastic bags. The barrier and optical properties as well as the thermal degradation of the films were not significantly influenced by the addition of chitin nanocrystals.
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- Herrera Vargas, Natalia, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Triethyl Citrate (TEC) as a Dispersing Aid in Polylactic Acid/Chitin Nanocomposites Prepared via Liquid-Assisted Extrusion
- 2017
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Ingår i: Polymers. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4360. ; 9:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The production of fully bio-based and biodegradable nanocomposites has gained attention during recent years due to environmental reasons; however, the production of these nanocomposites on the large-scale is challenging. Polylactic acid/chitin nanocrystal (PLA/ChNC) nanocomposites with triethyl citrate (TEC) at varied concentrations (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 wt %) were prepared using liquid-assisted extrusion. The goal was to find the minimum amount of the TEC plasticizer needed to enhance the ChNC dispersion. The microscopy study showed that the dispersion and distribution of the ChNC into PLA improved with the increasing TEC content. Hence, the nanocomposite with the highest plasticizer content (7.5 wt %) showed the highest optical transparency and improved thermal and mechanical properties compared with its counterpart without the ChNC. Gel permeation chromatography confirmed that the water and ethanol used during the extrusion did not degrade PLA. Further, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed improved interaction between PLA and ChNC through hydrogen bonding when TEC was added. All results confirmed that the plasticizer plays an important role as a dispersing aid in the processing of PLA/ChNC nanocomposites.
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