Recently, environmental problems due to excessive usage of petroleum-derived materials represents one of the major worldwide challenges. This research has been motivated to overcome the existing problems by providing solutions in tackling the environmental issues where cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) was implemented as a nanofiller in polymer matrix of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The obtained CNC was characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Tyndall effect. Three different weight percentage (wt %) of CNC was prepared (2 wt%, 4 wt% and 6 wt%) then added to 5 wt% of PVA solution. The prepared nanocomposites were also characterized using SEM, Fourier transform infrared Attenuated total reflectancespectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and optical microscopy. The thermal properties of the nanocomposite were identified using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis. Consequently, these natural friendly bio-nanocomposites could possibly replace the usage of synthetic polymers in manufacturing industry, especially in food packaging application.

Keywords : cellulose nanocrystals, polyvinyl alcohol, bio-nanocomposite