## 4 Conclusions  
The purpose of this study was to examine the thermo-mechanical and surface composition properties of biopolymer materials, which could be applied for their environmentally friendly and antimicrobial applications. Biopolymer-based Arbobelend V2 Nature pellets were silver nanoparticles coated with the physical vapor deposition sputtering deposition process. Both non-coated and silver-coated pellets were examined by mechanical, thermal and surface composition and morphology analysis. Nano-coating fragmentation allows silver nano-particles to be distributed onto the polymer surface in very low concentrations. A uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix can lead to a significant improvement in the properties of the nanocomposites. This research project consists of two main phases: the first step was to coat the Arbobelend V2 Nature pellets and characterize these pellets relative to the virgin pellets, and the second phase of characterizing parts produced with these materials via injection molding is still in progress. DSC analysis, degradation in the oven test, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and nanoindentation characterization of the samples was performed. DSC analysis revealed that no chemical alteration of the polymer resulted from the PVD process. The SEM analysis for the virgin liquid wood displayed a uniform surface pinhole-free coated surface structure with a random microstructure alignment. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy revealed that the main peaks were carbon, oxygen, and on the silver coated samples, also silver and Ag2O. The virgin sample showed more O-H and C-H compounds on the surface due to its wood nature related to the Arbobelend V2 Nature material structure. Nanoindentation tests on the surface of the pellets for silver-coated pellets showed a sharper indent under the optical scan of the indent due to the silver surface layer coverage. In future work, parts with these starting feedstocks will be obtained by injection molding and tested to accurately determine the macroscopic properties of the new material. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Nanoinindentation on Raw and Ag-Coated Pellets for Arbobelend V2 Nature**} \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{**HARDNESS (MPa)**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**EFEFECIIVE MODULUS (GPa)**} \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**No**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Raw Pellets**} & **Ag-Coated** & \multirow{2}{*}{**No**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Raw Pellets**} & **Ag-Coated** \\  & & **Pellets** & & & **Pellets** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Indent 1} & 252.81 & 135.54 & Indent 1 & 4.57 & 3.97 \\  & 322.18 & 212.97 & Indent 2 & 5.68 & 4.41 \\  & 3 254.62 & 149.56 & Indent 3 & 4.98 & 3.54 \\  & 4 275.56 & 191.47 & Indent 4 & 4.94 & 3.72 \\  & 5 230.19 & 172.11 & Indent 5 & 4.56 & 4.10 \\  & 267.07 & 172.33 & **Average** & 4.94 & 3.95 \\  & 34.74 & 31.18 & **St. Dev** & 0.45 & 0.33 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: The individual and average hardness and modulus values for the uncoated and coated Arbobelend V2 Nature pellets extracted from nano-indentation measurements. Figure 14: The effective modules and hardness extracted from indentation measurements. **Author Contributions:** J.G.M. : Writing--original draft, methodology, experimental research; N.E.G. : XPS, SEM, nanoindentation experiments, data analysis, writing the manuscript; D.N. : writing--original draft, writing--review and editing; D.B. : experimental research--review and editing; F.Q. : experimental research, coating and PVS. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This research was partially supported by a research grant from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant Number 16/RC/3872 and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund. **Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable. **Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.