Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Bacterial Cellulose-Based Nanocomposites:
Roadmap for Innovative Materials
Ana R. P. Figueiredo , Carla Vilela , Carlos Pascoal Neto , Armando J. D . Silvestre and
Carmen S. R. Freire
*
Department of Chemistry, CICECO, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Abstract
In the last decades there has been an increasing awareness in the search for biobased alterna-
tives as sources of novel nanocomposites for application in several i elds such as packaging,
biomedical products and devices, as well as in high-technology domains. Nanocellulose forms
like bacterial cellulose (BC), biosynthesized by several bacteria as a 3D network of nano- and
micro-i brils, have gained particular attention in this context because of their unique features,
namely high purity, water-holding capacity, crystallinity, tensile strength and Young's modulus,
that can be successfully exploited in the development of innovative nanostructured composite
materials. In this chapter, a comprehensive overview on the production, processing, proper-
ties and applications of bacterial cellulose-based nanocomposites is compiled and discussed. A
vast collection of BC nanocomposites such as those with other natural polymers, thermoplastic
matrices and inorganic nanophases will be addressed, aiming to demonstrate the real potentiali-
ties of BC in this domain.
Keywords:
Bacterial
cellulose , nanocomposites , polymer composites , hybrid materials ,
inorganic nanoparticles
2.1
Introduction
Cellulose is the most abundant biological macromolecule on Earth, with about 1.5 x
10
12
tons produced each year and a high economic importance in the pulp and paper as
well as textile industries [1-3]. Most cellulose is obtained from plants, where it repre-
sents the main structural element of cell walls; but it is also produced by a family of sea
animals called tunicates, several species of algae and some aerobic nonpathogenic bac-
teria, as well as through enzymatic and chemical methods [1]. Regardless of its origin,
cellulose is a linear homopolymer of β-D-glucopyranose units linked by β-(1→4) gly-
cosidic bonds, varying essentially on purity, degree of polymerization and crystallinity
index [4]. Bacterial cellulose (BC) was i rst reported by Adrien Brown in 1886. While
studying acetic fermentations, he noticed the formation of a white gelatinous pellicle
