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Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

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Uşurelu CD, Panaitescu DM, Oprică GM, Nicolae C-A, Gabor AR, Damian CM, Ianchiş R, Teodorescu M, Frone AN. Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites. Polymers. 2024; 16(21):3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069

Uşurelu CD, Panaitescu DM, Oprică GM, Nicolae C-A, Gabor AR, Damian CM, Ianchiş R, Teodorescu M, Frone AN. Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites. Polymers. 2024; 16(21):3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069

Abstract: Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a valuable biopolymer that is produced in industrial quantity but is not widely used in applications due to some drawbacks. The addition of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) as a biofiller in PHB/CNF nanocomposites may improve PHB properties and enlarge its application field. In this work, n-octyltriethoxy silane (OTES), a medium-chain-length alkyl silane, was used to surface chemically modify the CNF (CNF_OTES) to enhance their hydrophobicity and improve their compatibility with PHB. The surface functionalization of CNF and nanodimension were emphasized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and water contact angle (CA). Surface modification of CNF with OTES led to an increase in thermal stability by 25 °C and more than the doubling of CA. As a result of the higher surface hydrophobicity, the CNF_OTES were more homogeneously dispersed in PHB than unmodified CNF, leading to a PHB nanocomposite with better thermal and mechanical properties. Thus, an increase by 122% of the storage modulus at 25 °C, a slight increase in crystallinity, a better melting processability, and good thermal stability were obtained after reinforcing PHB with CNF_OTES, paving the way for increasing PHB applicability. Keywords: polyhydroxyalkanoates; cellulose nanofibers; alkyl silane; AFM; nanodimension

Uşurelu, C.D.; Panaitescu, D.M.; Oprică, G.M.; Nicolae, C.-A.; Gabor, A.R.; Damian, C.M.; Ianchiş, R.; Teodorescu, M.; Frone, A.N. Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites. Polymers 2024, 16, 3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069

Uşurelu, C.D.; Panaitescu, D.M.; Oprică, G.M.; Nicolae, C.-A.; Gabor, A.R.; Damian, C.M.; Ianchiş, R.; Teodorescu, M.; Frone, A.N. Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites. Polymers 2024, 16, 3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069

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Uşurelu, Cătălina Diana, Denis Mihaela Panaitescu, Gabriela Mădălina Oprică, Cristian-Andi Nicolae, Augusta Raluca Gabor, Celina Maria Damian, Raluca Ianchiş, Mircea Teodorescu, and Adriana Nicoleta Frone. 2024. "Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites" Polymers 16, no. 21: 3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Uşurelu, Cătălina Diana, Denis Mihaela Panaitescu, Gabriela Mădălina Oprică, Cristian-Andi Nicolae, Augusta Raluca Gabor, Celina Maria Damian, Raluca Ianchiş, Mircea Teodorescu, and Adriana Nicoleta Frone. 2024. "Effect of Medium-Chain-Length Alkyl Silane Modified Nanocellulose in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposites" Polymers 16, no. 21: 3069. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213069