All-cellulose nanocomposite film made from bagasse cellulose nanofibers for food packaging application

• Cellulose nanofiber was satisfactorily produced by grinding process from bagasse.
• All-cellulose nanocomposite was suitably produced by partial dissolution method.
• All-cellulose nanocomposite film displayed a maximum tensile strength of 140 MPa.
• Thermal stability of ACNC decreased according to the partial dissolution process.
• Water vapor permeability increased with an increased duration of dissolution time.

All-cellulose nanocomposite (ACNC) film was produced from sugarcane bagasse nanofibers using N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride solvent. The average diameter of bagasse fibers (14 μm) was downsized to 39 nm after disk grinding process. X-ray diffraction showed that apparent crystallinity and crystallite size decreased relatively to an increased duration of dissolution time. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed that thermal stability of the ACNC was slightly less than that of the pure cellulose nanofiber sheet. Tensile strength of the fiber sheet, nanofiber sheet and ACNC prepared with 10 min dissolution time were 8, 101 and 140 MPa, respectively. Water vapor permeability (WVP) of the ACNC film increased relatively to an increased duration of dissolution time. ACNC can be considered as a multi-performance material with potential for application in cellulose-based food packaging owing to its promising properties (tough, bio-based, biodegradable and acceptable levels of WVP).