Poly(3–hydroxybutyrate)–co–(3–hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is the only 100% biodegradable and biocompatible polyesters synthesized by bacterial fermentation from renewable resources. Cellulose nanocrystals only enhance the strength of PHBV, which restrict its application.
There are two ways which maybe used as single processing steps or simultaneously. One method is to add another poly( hydroxy alkanoic acid) so that a plasticizing effect is found or a plasticiser, e. g. based on succinic acid, is added. The other and more promising way is to establish a composition of both components by which you can establish a desired crystallinity, e. g. by chosing the processing temperature and the cooling rate. Which way will easily lead to success is to be found by experiment. But before you should consider the literature of which I'll give a few recent papers:
Bhardwaj, Rahul; Mohanty, Amar K., Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy, Volume 1, Number 2, August 2007 , pp. 191-209(19)
Marta Martínez-Sanz, Amparo Lopez-Rubio, Jose M. Lagaron, Journal of Polymers and the Environment , March 2014, Volume 22, Issue 1, pp 27-40
Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Volume 130, Issue 5, pages 3175–3183, December 5, 2013
Sanaa Pirani, Hatem M. N. Abushammala and Raed Hashaikeh, DOI: 10.1002/app.39576
Seidl, Martin; Bobek, Jiri; Habr, Jiri; Lenfeld, Petr; Behalek, Lubos From MRS Online Proceedings Library (2014), 1613(New Trends in Polymer Chemistry and Characterization-2013), pp. 1-7
T. Qiang, D. Yu, H. Gao, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 124, 1831 – 1839 (2012)
C. Nyambo, M. Misra, A. K. Mohanty, J. Mater. Sci. 47, 5158 – 5168 (2012)
In standard fiber reinforced plastic technology, ensuring a good bond between the fibers and the matrix is essential to maximizing toughness. If inspection of failed (post-test) specimens indicates that the mode of failure is separation at the fiber/matrix interface, you may want to investigate ways to surface treat the fibers to ensure better bonding. Sometimes silanes are useful for this purpose. Also, I don't know the geometry of your nano crystals. If it is possible to use obtain and us crystals with a length/diameter ratio of ca. 10, this should also improve strength and toughness.
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