Preparation and characterization of graphene oxide and cellulose nanofibers/ polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposite film

Abstract

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is well-known in the packaging industry, especially in the food and medical fields with the ability to be completely biodegradable and easily soluble in cold water therefore products made from it are the environmentally friendly materials. However, the disadvantages of this polymer as quick dissolubility in water, poor moisture retention, weak mechanical properties reduce its applications. In this study, PVA, reinforced by “green” components at the nanometer-level such as nanocellulose fibers (CNF), graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets showed improvements in properties. Mechanical properties of all of nanocomposite films showed improvements in stress at break and modulus. Especially, reinforced GO and CNF films increased almost doubled and improved more 40% in modulus than the pure PVA film and films reinforced by only GO or CNF. When immersed in water (neutral pH) at room temperature, graphene oxide-reinforced films not only had effective improvements in swelling time but also supported to decrease water retension of film added CNF. The combined reinforcement also indicated a benefit in reducing the rate of water vapor loss of the film as well as the efficiency in declining the moisture absorption of the nanocomposite films. The PVA films reinforced by nanocellulose fibers and graphene oxide sheets overcomed some of the PVA's shortcomings. This helped expanding its applications in the field of environmentally friendly nanocomposite films.