Polyvinyl Alcohol Biodegradable Nanocomposites, Reinforced with Nanocellulose

Polymer nanocomposites are very important materials of recent times، because of their significantly enhanced mechanical properties and thermal stability versus neat polymers or conventional polymer composites. A nanocomposite describes a two-phase material where one of the phases has at least one dimension in nanometer range (1-100 nm). The use of natural fibers as reinforcements in polymers and composites has attracted much attention due to the environmental concerns. Nanocellulose is one of the most abundant renewable natural polymers، exhibiting a number of well-known advantages، such as low cost، worldwide availability، biodegradability، high stiffness and good mechanical properties. Particular attraction is its low density that leads to high specific mechanical properties. Polyvinyl alcohol is water soluble، semi-crystalline، fully biodegradable، non-toxic، and biocompatible. Therefore، nanocellulose can be used in reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites.