Bio‐nanocomposites for food packaging applications: effect of cellulose nanofibers on morphological, mechanical, optical and barrier properties

Abstract

The effect of the addition of various concentrations of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) on the thickness, solubility, morphology, mechanics, water vapor permeability and optical properties of biopolymers isolated from whey protein produced by the casting method was studied. The results show that the addition of CNF did not cause significant variation in the thickness of the films and resulted in nanocomposites with lower solubility and water vapor permeability. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the films obtained with up to 4% of CNF showed good dispersion of the nanofibers in the whey protein matrix. The results of mechanical tests showed that the nanofibers acted as reinforcing material resulting in more resistant and less flexible films. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry