Preparation and characterization of blends of cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol.

• Grant number: 25/05651-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Aprigio da Silva Curvelo
• Grantee: Camila Souza Moraes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cellulose is an abundant, biodegradable, and chemically stable natural resource, but presents challenges in the production of polymer blends and composites. When this limitation is overcome, cellulose becomes a valuable and versatile resource in the development of new products and processes, being used in various industrial sectors such as textiles, aerospace, automotive, medical, electronics, packaging and others. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a non-toxic, low-cost synthetic polymer that resembles cellulose due to its hydroxyl group-rich chain. This similarity gives PVA the ability to react with carbon disulfide in a basic medium to form its corresponding xanthate, just like cellulose, a factor that can significantly improve the miscibility of blends between the two polymers. Several studies in the literature have investigated the combination of these two polymers to obtain composites, blends and hydrogels. However, in most of these studies, cellulose is incorporated into PVA solutions in dispersion form. In cases where the cellulose is dissolved, the solubilisation usually takes place in the presence of ionic liquids. In this context, the project proposes to use cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol as raw materials for the development of new materials, with the aim of preparing blends from the xanthate of these polymers, studying their interactions and analysing the morphology of the resulting biodegradable materials. (AU)