Environmental Properties and Applications of Cellulose and Chitin-Based Bionanocomposites

Bionanocomposites are class of bio-based nanostructured hybrid materials, which exhibit at least one dimension on the nanometer scale. In general, bionanocomposites are comprised of biopolymers and other organic or inorganic sources. Cellulose and chitin are the two most abundant biological polymers in nature. In recent decades, cellulose and chitin-based bionanocomposites have triggered a great deal of attention to understand such composite materials and their applications. Thanks to their renewable, biodegradable, biocompatible, low-cost, low-density, eco-friendly properties, and low energy consumption, cellulose and chitin-based bionanocomposites are excellent green technology materials. Currently, cellulose and chitin-based bionanocomposites are widely used in a variety of fields, such as environmental protection, electronics device industry, biomedicine industry, food industry, and agriculture industry. In this chapter, the sources and properties as well as the extraction and preparation methods of the corresponding cellulose and chitin bionanocomposites are introduced. The environmental characteristics of cellulose and chitin-based bionanocomposites and their applications in various fields are reported.