Enhanced oxygen barrier property of poly(ethylene oxide) films crystallite-oriented by adding cellulose single nanofibers

In this study, we investigated the influence of cellulose single nanofibers (CSNFs) added to poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on the microstructure and property to create high gas barrier films. The CSNF/PEO nanocomposite films were prepared by solvent casting. The PEO crystallite orientation was measured using wide-angle X-ray diffraction of the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility. The degree of crystallite orientation was evaluated from the reflections of the PEO (1 2 0) lattice planes to investigate quantitatively the effect of different amounts of the additive CSNFs. The crystallite orientation of PEO increased with the addition of the CSNF. Furthermore, the oxygen barrier property for each nanocomposite film was found to be higher than that of the pure PEO film. The 5 wt% addition of CSNFs was mostly effective in enhancing the PEO crystallite orientation and oxygen barrier.