oPoly(lactic acid) (PLA) synthesized via reactive extrusion ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide using a catalyst. oTwo different bacterial celluloses, BNC and BMFC used at 0.5 wt% relative to L-lactide mass. oCharacterization through XRD, DSC and TGA. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 952941 biomac@chem.auth.gr INTRODUCTION EXPLORING THE EFFECT OF CELLULOSE ON THE STRUCTURAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF POLY(LACTIC ACID) (PLA) – BASED FILMS AUTH Eleftheria Xanthopoulou*, Georgia Lathira*, Rafael Sanchez**, Pilar Albaladejo Sánchez**, Giacomo Marra***, Miguel Angel Valera***, Charilaos Xiros****, Z. Terzopoulou*, D. Bikiaris* * Laboratory of Polymer and Colors Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece ** Instituto Tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logística, ITENE, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, C/Albert Einstein 1, 46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain *** AIMPLAS, Asociación de Investigación de Materiales Plásticos Y Conexas, Carrer de Gustave Eiffel, 4, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain **** RISE Processum AB, SE-891 22, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONCLUSIONS oThe incorporation of BNC and BMFC affected the thermal transitions of PLA-based films. oBoth DSC and XRD analyses suggested crystallization of all materials after the annealing procedure. oThe thermal stability was sustained and depended on the cellulose type and molecular weight of the final nanocomposite. This study investigates the effect of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) and microfibrillated cellulose (BMFC) reinforcement on the performance of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based films synthesized by reactive extrusion (REX), a rapid and cost-effective method for polymer functionalization, blending, and compatibilization. L-lactide Catalyst 15 min BNC or BMFC fraction 0.5 wt% XRD patterns of (a) quenched and (b) annealed (at 80 °C for 1h) PLA-based films. TGA curves of (a) the % mass and (b) the first derivative of mass loss in PLA-based films. o PLA has a Tg=59.9 °C, Tcc=112.1 °C and a melting point at Tm=166.4. °C. o Tg, Tcc and Tm have a decreasing trend, following the Mn trend. o All materials had the diffraction peaks of PLA. o Small diffraction peaks of the additive appeared in PLA-BNC pattern. o All materials exhibit two distinct degradation steps, the first corresponding to the loss of moisture content and the breaking of cellulose components and the second to PLA. o The Tonset of the PLA segments is not significantly affected by the presence of the additive. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Intensity (counts) 2theta (degrees) PLA REX BMFC PLA REX BNC PLA REX (a) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Intensity (counts) 2theta (degrees) PLA REX BMFC PLA REX BNC PLA REX (b) 100 200 300 400 500 0 20 40 60 80 100 Mass (%) Temperature (°C) PLA REX PLA REX BNC PLA REX BMFC (a) 100 200 300 400 500 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 DTG (%/min) Temperature (°C) PLA REX PLA REX BNC PLA REX BMFC (b) SEM image of PLA BMFC composite. 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Normalized Heat Flow (W/g) Endo Up Temperature (°C) PLA REX BMFC PLA REX BNC PLA REX 0.5 W/g (b) 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Normalized Heat Flow (W/g) Endo Up Temperature (°C) PLA REX BMFC PLA REX BNC PLA REX 0.5 W/g (a) Sample Tg (°C) Tm (°C) Tcc(°C) Tc(°C) Xc (%) PLA REX 59.9 166.4 112.1 100.4 25.1 PLA REX BNC 57.1 165.8 104 94.2 33.4 PLA REX BMFC 51.2 164.9 96.5 91.4 37.8 DSC heating scans of (a) quenched and (b) annealed (at 80 °C for 1h) PLA-based films.