@Article{JRM.2014.634106,
AUTHOR = {Marta Martínez-Sanz, Amparo López-Rubio, Maria José Fabra, José M. Lagaron},
TITLE = {A New Method for Developing Industrially Viable  Nanocrystalline Cellulose-based Nanocomposites via Melt  Compounding},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {2},
YEAR = {2014},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {107--117},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v2n2/49642},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {Due to their high crystallinity and aspect ratio, bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers (BCNW) represent an appealing 
choice for the development of fully biobased nanocomposite materials with high barrier performance. However, their 
strong tendency to self-associate, together with their highly hydrophilic character, has restricted the production of 
nanocomposites containing cellulose nanowhiskers by industrial processing techniques such as melt compounding. 
 Th is article presents an overview of the latest published results carried out within our group and also in other 
relevant literature, which have led to the development of an effi cient strategy for the incorporation of highly dispersed 
BCNW by melt compounding through the use of electrohydrodynamic processing as a vehicle for the pre-incorporation 
of relatively high loadings of BCNW. First, a method for the production of highly crystalline and thermally stable BCNW 
was developed. Th ese BCNW were incorporated into electrospun fi bers, optimizing the process in terms of nanofi ller 
dispersion and degree of incorporation. Finally, these hybrid fi bers were used as masterbatches for the production of melt 
compounded nanocomposites, comparing their morphology and barrier properties with the conventional method of 
adding freeze-dried nanowhiskers. Th is method was proven to be eff ective for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic matrices 
and, thus, it provides a feasible route for the development of high barrier biobased materials.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2014.634106}
}