Green composites obtained from biodegradable renewable resources have gained much attention due to environmental problems resulting from conventionally synthetic plastics and a global increasing demand for alternatives to fossil resources. In this work we used different cellulose fibers from used office paper and newspaper as reinforcement for thermoplastic starch (TPS) in order to improve their poor mechanical, thermal and water resistance properties. These composites were prepared by using tapioca starch plasticized by glycerol (30 % wt/wt of glycerol to starch) as matrix reinforced by the extracted cellulose fibers with the contents ranging from 0 to 8 % (wt/wt of fibers to matrix). Properties of composites were determined by mechanical tensile tests, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, water absorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and soil burial tests. The results showed that the introduction of either office paper or newspaper cellulose fibers caused the improvement of tensile strength and elastic modulus, thermal stability, and water resistance for composites when compared to the non-reinforced TPS. Scanning electron microscopy showed a good adhesion between matrix and fibers. Moreover, the composites biological degraded completely after 8 weeks but required a longer time compared to the non-reinforced TPS. The results indicated that these green composites could be utilized as commodity plastics being strong, inexpensive, plentiful and recyclable.

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Abstract. Biocomposites sheets were prepared by compression molding from mixtures of corn starch plasticized by glycerol as matrix and cellulose fibers, extracted from used office paper, as reinforcement filler with contents ranging from 0 to 8% wt/wt of fibers to matrix. Properties of composites were determined by mechanical tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, water absorption measurement, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that higher fibers content raised the tensile strength and elastic modulus up to 109% and 112%, respectively, when compared to the non-reinforced thermoplastic starch (TPS). The addition of the fibers improved the thermal resistance and decreased the water absorption up to 63.6%. Scanning electron microscopy illustrated a good adhesion between matrix and fibers.

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Functionalities of 3D printing filaments have gained much attention owing to their properties for various applications in the last few years. Innovative biocomposite 3D printing filaments based on polylactic acid (PLA) composited with ZnO nanoflowers at varying contents were successfully fabricated via a single-screw extrusion technique. The effects of the varying ZnO nanoflower contents on their chemical, thermal, mechanical, and antibacterial properties were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile testing, as well as qualitative and quantitative antibacterial tests, respectively. It was found that the ZnO nanoflowers did not express any chemical reactions with the PLA chains. The degrees of the crystallinity of the PLA/ZnO biocomposite filaments increased when compared with those of the neat PLA, and their properties slightly decreased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. Additionally, the tensile strength of the PLA/ZnO biocomposite filaments gradually decreased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. The antibacterial activity especially increased when increasing the ZnO nanoflower contents. Additionally, these 3D printing filaments performed better against Gram-positive (S. aureus) than Gram-negative (E. coli). This is probably due to the difference in the cell walls of the bacterial strains. The results indicated that these 3D printing filaments could be utilized for 3D printing and applied to medical fields.

Series of poly (vinyl alcohol)/chitosan (PVA/CS) electrospun nanofibers with different weight ratio of PVA and CS were fabricated by electrospinning method. The surface morphology, diameter, and structure of electrospun nanofibers were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a result of PVA and CS composition measurements, the electrospun nanofibers morphologies were mainly affected by weight ratio of the polymer solution. When increasing the chitosan content in the blend solution, the electrospun nanofibers could hardly form. This result indicates that the electrospun nanofiber formation is enhanced by chitosan content.

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Recently, the composited nanofiber attraction has been growing from researchers across the world due to its exciting opportunities for use in biomedical applications. In this study, we fabricated electrospun fibers from poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composited with Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle for potential use in biomedical applications. From the experimental results, there was not any chemical bonding between the ZnO nanoparticles and the PVA molecules. The effect of concentration of ZnO nanoparticles in PVA solution on the diameter of electrospun fibers was found that the diameter of electrospun fibers increased with raising the concentration of suspended ZnO nanoparticles in solution. This is probably because the effect of nanoparticles on the diameter of electrospun fibers was through their effect on the viscosity of solution. In addition, we found that the diameter of electrospun fibers depended on the solution and processing parameters.