Biobased polymers are a critical research topic as they may serve as replacement to traditional
unsustainable petro-chemical polymers. It is vital to widen its range of applications by improving
its physical and mechanical properties via light weighting and strength improvements. Light
weighting can be accomplished by introducing foam morphology to the material while
mechanical strength improvements can be achieved by inserting stiff filler material to the base
polymer to form a composite. This study explores the physical, mechanical, thermal, rheological
and morphological properties of blends, foams and composites between biobased PLA and
PHBV matrix polymers and biobased chitin nanowhisker filler. It was found that foams produced
from PLA and PHBV blends exhibits refined cellular morphology which leads to light weighting
and good strength preservation while chitin nanowhiskers was determined to be a very effective
filler for mechanical property improvements in both solid and porous materials