Cover: Pollen‐filled polystyrene composite films formed by solvent casting demonstrate a 15% improvement in elongation‐at‐break relative to unfilled polystyrene at 2.5 mass% loading. The cover image shows a close‐up scanning electron microscope image of the pollen– polystyrene interface. The inset shows a single ragweed pollen grain embedded in the polystyrene matrix. Further details can be found in the article by J.‐H. Lee, B. M. Suttle, H.‐J. Kim, and J. C. Meredith,* .
Pollen has an exine shell with remarkable chemical stability, high‐strength, and unique microstructures that suggest use as a biorenewable polymer filler. Pollen‐filled polymers may offer potential for light‐weight, high‐strength materials that can displace some petroleum‐derived content with a sustainable plant‐based alternative. We report the first demonstration of the incorporation of pollen grains (short ragweed) on the mechanical, interfacial, and thermal properties of two polymers, poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and polystyrene (PS). Under certain solvent and annealing conditions, PS mechanical properties were improved synergistically upon addition of pollen, while those of PCL were always degraded, in strong agreement with wetting behavior of the polymer–pollen interface.
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