Xerogels are porous networks of crosslinked polymers that are useful for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, scaffold engineering, tissue regeneration, cell culture and wound dressing. However, inferior mechanical properties curtail their applications to a considerable extent. Nanocellulose fibers and crystals are often added into the polymer matrix to improve their mechanical strength. Here, nanocellulose in the mass ratios of 7%, 13% and 18% are loaded into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix followed by thermo-morpho-mechanical characterization. With increase in nanocellulose content, thermal degradation occurs at a lower temperature. It is observed that addition of higher quantity of nanocellulose crystals leads to the formation of weak cellulose-rich regions causing xerogel rupture. This is predominantly observed for xerogel loaded with 18% nanocellulose crystals. Similarly, addition of higher quantity of nanocellulose fibers increase brittleness of the xerogels causing fracture. This is predominantly observed for xerogel loaded with 18% nanocellulose fibers. Creep strain and stress relaxation is observed to decrease with addition of nanocellulose loading owing to molecular chain restriction and polymer chain immobility.

干凝胶是交联聚合物的多孔网络，可用于生物医学应用，例如药物输送，支架工程，组织再生，细胞培养和伤口敷料。但是，较差的机械性能在很大程度上限制了它们的应用。经常将纳米纤维素纤维和晶体添加到聚合物基质中以提高其机械强度。在此，将质量比为7％，13％和18％的纳米纤维素加载到聚乙烯醇（PVA）基质中，然后进行热形态机械表征。随着纳米纤维素含量的增加，在较低温度下发生热降解。可以观察到，添加更多数量的纳米纤维素晶体会导致形成富含纤维素的薄弱区域，从而导致干凝胶破裂。对于装载有18％纳米纤维素晶体的干凝胶，主要观察到了这一点。同样，添加更多数量的纳米纤维素纤维会增加干凝胶的脆性，从而导致断裂。对于装载有18％纳米纤维素纤维的干凝胶，通常会观察到这种情况。由于分子链的限制和聚合物链的固定性，随着纳米纤维素负载的增加，蠕变应变和应力松弛得以降低。