Rapid synthesis of high strength cellulose–poly(Vinyl alcohol) (PVA) biocompatible composite films via microwave crosslinking

The present study describes microwave (MW)-assisted rapid synthesis of biocompatible poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite films that demonstrate synergy between reinforcement and crosslinking. Bacterial cellulose (5% w/w) nanowhiskers (reinforcement) and tartaric acid 35% (w/w) (crosslinker) are incorporated in PVA to prepare crosslinked cellulose–PVA composite films. The properties of thus prepared crosslinked cellulose–PVA composite films are compared with samples crosslinked with conventional hot air oven heating (CH). Crosslinking by both of the methods reduces water absorption of PVA by around an order of magnitude and improves its thermal stability. An increase in strength from 42 (PVA) to 172 MPa and 159 MPa for MW and CH crosslinked samples, respectively is also observed. Although composites prepared using MW and CH show similar properties, MW takes only 14 min compared to 2 h in case of CH. Notably, the prepared composites demonstrate hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility, and may also be explored for biomedical applications.