Processing of Cellulose-Based Bionanocomposites

The polarity of cellulose whiskers makes it difficult to disperse them in nonpolar environments [31]. This behavior makes the processing of cellulose-based bionanocomposites very difficult because several biodegradable polymers are mainly hydrophobic. On the other hand, a higher degree of filler dispersion in the polymer matrix is expected in polar medium. 

Usually, two main techniques are used to prepare cellulose-based bionanocomposites [65], known as solvent casting and melt processing. 

Solvent casting is currently the most commonly used for three main types of polymers  

For polymer emulsions and non-hydrosoluble polymers, two different routes were studied to uniformly disperse cellulose nanofillers in an adequate organic medium [3]  

To incorporate a shell on the surface of the cellulose nanocrystals (by using surfactants having polar heads and long hydrophobic tails. 

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