0000000000070604
AUTHOR
Botta L.
BIODEGRADABLE POLYMER-BASED COMPOSITES FILLED WITH BIOCHAR FOR TUNABLE RELEASE OF CARVACROL
Bio-composites are commonly obtained by combining biodegradable polymers with fillers collected from natural resources. In this context, biochar (BC) is attracting high interest as filler for polymer-based composites due to its challenging properties, including ecosustainability. This study aimed to prepare and characterize bio-composites with antimicrobial properties evaluating the role of the filler in the release kinetics. In particular, BC as filler and carvacrol (CRV) as antimicrobial agent, were incorporated via melt-compounding in poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) samples. The rheological, tensile, and antimicrobial properties of the obtained bio-composites were evaluate…
MECHANICAL, RHEOLOGICAL AND THERMAL EVALUATION OF POLY(LACTIC ACID) (PLA)/MICRO FIBRILLATED CELLULOSE (MFC) PLASTICIZED BIOCOMPOSITES PRODUCED WITH FLAT DIE EXTRUSION AND CALENDERING
The use of Micro Fibrillated Cellulose (MFC) as filler for polymeric matrices attempts an increasing interest both in academia and industry. In this framework, encouraging results have been obtained using plasticizers, as dispersing aids, during twin-screw extrusion that optimizes the process parameters and avoid MFC agglomeration. In this work, two commercial typologies of waterborne solution of MFC (Exilva and Celish) were melt-compounded in a PLA matrix through semi-industrial twin-screw extruder and calendered, producing films of 150 μm thickness. These films were mechanically and thermally characterized, moreover the migration of the plasticizer along the time was evaluated through ana…
LEMONGRASS PLANT LEAF AND CULM AS POTENTIAL SOURCES OF REINFORCEMENT FOR BIO-COMPOSITES
A possible source of natural reinforcement for bio-composites can be represented by lemongrass plant (Cymbopogon flexuosus), a clumped and perennial grass which belongs to the Poaceae family. This plant is extensively used for several applications such as pharmacology, food preservation and cosmetics but, to the best of our knowledge, few papers were published on its use as source for reinforcement of composites and no one article was focused on the comparison between lemongrass leaves and culms as potential source of natural reinforcement. To this aim, a preliminary investigation on leaf and culm fibers was carried out to compare their physical and chemical features as well as their tensil…
Physical and biological properties of electrospun poly(d,l‐lactide)/nanoclay and poly(d,l‐lactide)/nanosilica nanofibrous scaffold for bone tissue engineering
Abstract Electrospun scaffolds exhibiting high physical performances with the ability to support cell attachment and proliferation are attracting more and more scientific interest for tissue engineering applications. The inclusion of inorganic nanoparticles such as nanosilica and nanoclay into electrospun biopolymeric matrices can meet these challenging requirements. The silica and clay incorporation into polymeric nanofibers has been reported to enhance and improve the mechanical properties as well as the osteogenic properties of the scaffolds. In this work, for the first time, the physical and biological properties of polylactic acid (PLA) electrospun mats filled with different concentrat…
Effect of the UV exposure on the creep behaviour of PLA based green composites
Green composites made of biodegradable matrices and lignocellulosic fibers are receiving growing attention from both academia and industries. Despite a wide literature can be found about mechanical behavior of such kind of composites, at the best of our knowledge, only limited information is available about their creep behavior [1] and no papers have been yet done on the effect of ultraviolet exposition. The tensile creep behavior at 40 °C of PLA based composites, containing flax and jute twill weave woven fabrics, produced through compression molding, was investigated. As preliminary characterization, quasi-static tensile tests were carried out on virgin and UV aged composites