Varieties of vegetable oil-based polymer nanocomposites

A large number of vegetable oil-based polymer nanocomposites have been reported in the literature. Among these, vegetable oil-based polyesters, polyurethanes and epoxies are very important and are discussed in the following sub-sections. 

Where the loading of nanomaterial is increased, the resistance of nanocomposites towards different chemical media increases. This may be due to the more compact and cross-linked structure of the nanocomposites, along with a reduction of permeability characteristics compared to the pristine system. The delaminated structure of the nanocomposites reduces the permeability and, as a result, the various ions or species present in the different media cannot easily penetrate the surface as they have to follow an indirect path. A significant increase in the thermal degradation temperature and a decrease in the thermal degradation rate have also been observed in most of these nanocomposite systems where there is an increase in the amount of dispersed nanomaterial. This improvement of thermal stability in the nanocomposites systems is related to the well-dispersed nanomaterials, which hinder the diffusion of volatiles and assist the formation of char after thermal decomposition. 

Mesua ferrea L. seed oil-based highly thermostable and biodegradable polyester/clay nanocomposites exhibited 2.6- and 6-fold improvement in tensile strength and elongation at break, respectively, and about a 150°C increase in thermostability under the influence of a nanoclay loading of 5 wt%. The formation of well-dispersed partially exfoliated 

3 Microbial degradation of nanocomposite systems with increasing nanoclay loading. 

4 Antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles against various microorganisms. 

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