5TH POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR ON NATURAL FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER COMPOSITES

Nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced

starch-based nanocomposite: A review

AHMAD ILYAS BIN RUSHDAN

GS46982
 R.A. Ilyas1*, S.M. Sapuan1, 2, M.L. Sanyang1,
M.R. Ishak3

1 Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical

Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia
3Department of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Putra
Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

*email: ahmadilyasrushdan@yahoo.com
 Abstract
Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) served as a promising candidate for bio-
nanocomposite due to their high strength and stiffness, renewability, low weight
and biodegradability, nano-scale cellulose fiber materials and its production as
well as its application in development of composite. NCC can be used as
reinforcement in composite materials because it has the ability to enhance
mechanical, thermal as well as biodegradation properties of nanocomposite. Due
to the problems exhibited by plasticize starch such as brittleness, high water
absorption and poor mechanical properties, NCC is introduced as reinforcement
for thermoplastic starch (TPS). This reviewed the NCC from the various sources
reinforced in plasticized starch.

Keywords: Nanocrystalline cellulose, Nanocellulose, Nanocomposite, Starch

 Introduction
Petroleum –
based polymer
 Damage the ecosystem due to
their non-degradable
properties.
 Land Pollution.
 Cause problem to endangered
animal especially marine life.
 Depletion of fossil source.
Green
Polymer
Starch- biodegradable polymers, renewability,
easy availability.
Disadvantages-intractable to nature, brittleness,
poor water-sensitivity and poor mechanical strength.
- blending with other synthetic
polymers, chemical modification, graft co-
polymerisation, and incorporating fillers such as
lignin, clay, cellulose, sugar palm fibre and multi-
walled carbon nanotubes.
Classification of Bio-plastic

Fig. 1. Classification of bioplastics based on their

production routes (Reddy MM, Misra M, 2012)
 Starch
• Widely used as bioplastic.
• Native starch contains around 70-85% amylopectin
and 15%-30% amylose (Reddy et al., 2013).
• Plasticizers such as glycerol, water and sorbitol are
used to help in increasing the free volume and hence
decreasing the softening temperature as well as glass
transition (Halley, 2005;Coffin & Fishman, 1994).
• Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is formed when there is
disruption of starch molecular structure, where heating
of starch granules will lead to swelling and non-
irreversible transition of amorphous regions in present
of plasticizer, under specific condition(Avérous, 2004).
Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC)
 NCC has a rigid rod-shape structure, 1–100 nm in diameter and tens to
hundreds of nanometers in length 1 and 2

high surface area (150- high aspect ratio of

high crystallinity low density
250 m2 g-1) 100

high mechanical
high tensile strength Renewability and
strength, (Young biodegradability
(7500 MPa) availability
Modulus 150 Gpa)

Produced from various

plant sources : 5-70 high surface to volume abundant surface of Compatible to
nm diameter and 100- ratio hydroxyl group reinforce with starch
250 nm length
 Various source of nanocrystalline cellulose reinforced
starch-based nanocomposite
Table 1: Examples of starch based polymer, NCC nanocomposites and their mechanical properties
Starch-based NCC Sources Isolation Chemical/ Time Manufacturing Tensile strength Young's Ref.
polymers of NCC technique (MPa) modulus (MPa)
Pea starch Hemp 64 wt % H2SO4 / 4 h Solution-casting 3.9 – 11.5 31.9 – 823.9 [40]
Pea starch Flax 64 wt % H2SO4 / 4 h Solution-casting 3.9 – 11.9 31.9 – 498.2 [1]
Pea starch Bamboo 50 wt % H2SO4 / 48 h Solution-casting 2.5 – 12 20.4 – 210.3 [41]
Maize starch Tunicin 55 wt % H2SO4 / 20 mins Solution-casting 0.24 – 20 51 – 315 [42][43]
Maize starch Waxy maize starch H2SO4 / 5 days Solution-casting 1 – 15 11 – 320 [44][45]
Maize starch Tunicate – Solution-casting 42 208 – 838 [46]
Wheat starch Cottonseed linter 64 wt % H2SO4 / 4 h Solution-casting 2.5 – 7.8 36 – 301 [47]
Plasticized Cotton cellulose H2SO4 Solution-casting – – [48]
starch powders
Wheat starch Ramie 64 wt % H2SO4 / 4 h Solution-casting 2.8 – 6..9 56 – 480 [49]
Potato starch MCC 64 wt % H2SO4 / 2 h Solution-casting 13.7 460 [50]
Wheat starch Microcrystalline 36.5 wt.% HCl Solution-casting 3.15 – 10.98 – [51]
cellulose (MCC)
Potato starch Cotton linter 64 wt % H2SO4 / 1 h Solution-casting 4.93 – [52]
Potato starch Potato peel waste 64 wt % H2SO4 / 90 mins – 460 [53]
Maize starch Sugarcane bagasse 64 wt % H2SO4/ 3 h Solution-casting 17.4 520 [54]
• Most of the researchers using solution-casting methods to reinforce NCC with starch-based
polymer and using hydrolysis treatment of concentration acid, H2SO4 64 wt%.
• Highest tensile strength (MPa) and Young modulus (Mpa) owned by Tunicate NCC reinforced
maize starch with 42 and 208-838 MPa, respectively.
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