Polymer nanocomposites reinforced with nanoparticles extracted from renewable resources

摘要

There has been an explosion of interest in the use of biomass as a source of renewable energy and materials. One focus of this activity has followed from the recognition that, by suitable chemical and mechanical treatments, it is possible to produce fibrous materials with one or two dimensions in the nanometer range from many naturally occurring sources of cellulose. The term nanocellulose is used to cover the range of materials derived from cellulose with at least one dimension in the nanometer range. Owing to its hierarchical structure and semicrystalline nature, nanoparticles can be extracted from naturally occuring cellulose using a top-down mechanically- or chemically-induced deconstructing strategy.