Browsing by Author "Torres Rojas, Camilo Antonio"
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Item Obtención y caracterización de compósitos de nanofibras de celulosa y quitosano por formación nebulizada de películas.(Universidad de Concepción., 2023) Torres Rojas, Camilo Antonio; Pereira Soto, Miguel A.One of the current challenges is to reduce the production and disposal of fossil-based plastics in the food packaging industry. In the search for a more sustainable industry, various alternatives have been studied, including nanofibrillated cellulose from plant biomass and chitosan. While individual contributions related to each material and the use of NFC as reinforcement for CS have been made, the broader mix of NFC and CS has received less attention. Additionally, comprehensive studies on the electrostatic interaction between NFC and CS are still lacking. Thus, the general objective of this research was to develop and characterize a sustainable material from NFC/CS mixtures with characteristics suitable for food packaging applications. For this, two sets of films were prepared. The first set varied the NFC/CS composition. The second set maintained a constant composition and varied the chitosan protonation degree, by adjusting the pH of the dispersions. Regarding the NFC/CS composition, it was found that increasing CS content reduced the Young's modulus, elastic limit, and increased air permeability of the films. The modification of chitosan protonation degree in films with NFC-CS mixture was confirmed by changes in FTIR and Raman spectra. A higher protonation degree significantly increased the Young's modulus and elastic limit of the films. This was attributed to the increase in electrostatic interactions between NFC and CS, reinforcing the nanofiber matrix. Contact angle measurements revealed that increasing CS percentage in the NFC-CS mixture resulted in higher contact angles. Films with 100% NFC were hydrophilic (43.5°), while those with 100% CS were hydrophobic (104.2°). However, by increasing the protonation degree, it was possible to obtain hydrophobic films with higher NFC content. The combination of NFC and CS, along with chitosan protonation modification, showed potential for producing composite materials as sustainable alternatives for the food packaging industry. These results suggest that pH modification can be a simple and scalable way to produce more environmentally friendly materials.