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Biodegradable Nanocomposite Foams: Processing, Structure, and Properties

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Advances in Sustainable Polymers

Abstract

The biodegradable nanocomposite foams can be developed using different fabrication techniques where the use of various kinds of bio-based nanofillers helps in tailoring the foam properties. A brief discussion on different techniques of fabrication, their economic viability, and industrial feasibility in regards to the polymeric foams is madeĀ in this chapter. Moreover, the available different biodegradable polymeric foams and their processing in the recent past years is detailed. However, the chapter mainly focuses on the biodegradable poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposite foams and their recent developments and breakthroughs. The addition of nanofillers for fabricating the foam greatly affects various foam properties such as cell size, cell density, and porosity. Other important properties such as thermal properties, mechanical properties, and wettability are also affected by the nanofiller materials. The degradation of PLA-based nanocomposite foams is greatly influenced due to the addition of various bio-based nanofiller materials. In this regard, the tailor-made properties of various biodegradable foams make them promising candidate in different areas of research.

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Correspondence to Vimal Katiyar .

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Borkotoky, S.S., Ghosh, T., Katiyar, V. (2020). Biodegradable Nanocomposite Foams: Processing, Structure, and Properties. In: Katiyar, V., Kumar, A., Mulchandani, N. (eds) Advances in Sustainable Polymers. Materials Horizons: From Nature to Nanomaterials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1251-3_12

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