RESUMO O presente trabalho teve como objetivo empregar resíduos agroindustriais, especificamente fibras celulósicas extraídas de talos de casca de banana, para a obtenção de acetato de celulose. Tal produto por sua vez, foi utilizado como matriz em um compósito antimicrobiano para uso em embalagens de alimentos, constituído de acetato de celulose e partículas de prata. As referidas partículas foram produzidas por meio de síntese hidrotérmica assistida por micro-ondas a partir da redução do nitrato de prata, utilizando o citrato trisódico. As partículas de prata apresentaram um diâmetro médio de 433,6 nm. O compósito obtido foi caracterizado por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), testes de resistência à tração, análise termogravimétrica e espectroscopia no infravermelho por transformada de Fourrier (FTIR) e no UV-visível. Os resultados mostraram uma tensão de ruptura de aproximadamente 43 MPa, 25% maior que a apresentada por polímeros comerciais sem a adição de cargas. Além disto, obteve-se propriedades bactericidas com relação as bactérias Staphylococcus aureus e Escherichia coli, quando em contato direto com o filme formado pelo compósito.

ABSTRACT The present work had the objective to use agroindustrial residues, specifically cellulosic fibers from banana peel stalks, to obtain cellulose acetate. This product, in turn, was used as a matrix in an antimicrobial composite for food packaging, consisting of cellulose acetate and silver particles. The silver particles were produced by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis from the reduction of silver nitrate using trisodium cit-rate. The obtained particles had a mean diameter of 433.6 nm. The composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile strength test, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier trans-form infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. The results showed a fracture strain 25% greater than the commercial polymers without the addition of fillers, achieving about 43 MPa. In addition, bactericidal properties were obtained in relation to the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli when in direct contact with the composite film formed.

Abstract The nano/microstructures with highly porous surface area have attracted tremendous attention, particularly the synthesis and tailoring of porous and hollow materials of high performance. In this paper, an easy method of cost-effective synthesis of hollow ceramic fiber membranes based on Hydroxyapatite, TiO2 and ZrO2 stabilized with Yttrium, is proposed by a single chemical route (polymeric precursor method) and a bio-template route (easy to degrade in thermal conditions). This article reports also the ZrTiO4 nanowires synthesis on a silicon (100) wafer in a single step deposition/thermal treatment. Template-directed membrane synthesis strategy was associated to the polymeric precursor route and spin-coating deposition technique. In this method, ZrTiO4 nanowire ceramic were synthesized by spin-coating thermal treatment technique using polycarbonate membrane as a template. According to the results, after heat-treatment by the template removal, the ZrTiO4 nanowire consists of uniformly deposited crystalline and porous nanoparticles that exhibited a higher surface area and a higher porosity. The polycrystalline nanowires were obtained at by thermal treatment with diameter in the range of 60-100 nm. Photoluminescence spectra were collected for fiber at room temperature. These characterizations demonstrate the morphology of structures formed, showing its hollow and porous conformation, suitable applications to advanced reinforced or device component material.

NiO nanoparticles with an average size of 15 nm were prepared by a simple, reproducible and low-cost controlled method, using nickel nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO3)2·6H2O). These nanoparticles were added to an agar-based polymer electrolyte formula, resulting, after reflux and solution casting, in a proton conducting membrane. The highest ionic conductivity values of 5.19x10-5 S cm-1 at room temperature and 3.32x10-4 S cm-1 at 80 ºC, were obtained for the sample with 50 wt. % of acetic acid and 0.25 g of NiO. Moreover, the samples showed 75 % of transparency in the visible region, a homogeneous surface and mainly amorphous structure. All the obtained results suggest that agar-based polymer electrolyte with NiO nanoparticles are promising candidates for electrochemical devices application.

In the present study, TiO2 nanopowder was partially coated with Y2O3 precursors generated by a sol-gel modified route. The system of nanocoated particles formed an ultra thin structure on the TiO2 surfaces. The modified nanoparticles were characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Zeta potential and surface area through N2 fisisorption measurements. Bioethanol dehydration was used as a probe reaction to investigate the modifications on the nanoparticles surface. The process led to the obtainment of nanoparticles with important surface characteristics and catalytic behavior in the bioethanol dehydration reaction, with improved activity and particular selectivity in comparison to their non-coated analogs. The ethylene production was disfavored and selectivity toward acetaldehyde, hydrogen and ethane increased over modified nanoparticles.