In the present work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have been surface-modified either via covalent grafting or through physisorption of poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and employed as reinforcement in PCL. Covalent grafting was achieved by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Two approaches were utilized for the physisorption: using either micelles of poly(dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA-b-PBMA) or latex nanoparticles of poly(dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid)-block-poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (P(DMAEMA-co-MAA)-b-PBMA). Block copolymers (PDMAEMA-b-PBMA)s were obtained by ATRP and subsequently micellized. Latex nanoparticles were produced via reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) mediated surfactant-free emulsion polymerization, employing polymer-induced self-assembly (PISA) for the particle formation. For a reliable comparison, the amounts of micelles/latex particles adsorbed and the amount of polymer grafted onto the CNCs were kept similar. Two different chain lengths of PBMA were targeted, below and above the critical molecular weight for chain entanglement of PBMA (M ∼ 56 000 g mol). Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanocomposites reinforced with unmodified and modified CNCs in different weight percentages (0.5, 1, and 3 wt %) were prepared via melt extrusion. The resulting composites were evaluated by UV-vis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile testing. All materials resulted in higher transparency, greater thermal stability, and stronger mechanical properties than unfilled PCL and nanocomposites containing unmodified CNCs. The degradation temperature of PCL reinforced with grafted CNCs was higher than that of micelle-modified CNCs, and the latter was higher than that of latex-adsorbed CNCs with a long PBMA chain length. The results clearly indicate that covalent grafting is superior to physisorption with regard to thermal and mechanical properties of the final nanocomposite. This unique study is of great value for the future design of CNC-based nanocomposites with tailored properties.
Significantly increased production of biobased polymers is a prerequisite to replace petroleum‐based materials towards reaching a circular bioeconomy. However, many renewable building blocks from wood and other plant material are not directly amenable for polymerization, due to their inert backbones and/or lack of functional group compatibility with the desired polymerization type. Based on a retro‐biosynthetic analysis of polyesters, a chemoenzymatic route from (−)‐α‐pinene towards a verbanone‐based lactone, which is further used in ring‐opening polymerization, is presented. Generated pinene‐derived polyesters showed elevated degradation and glass transition temperatures, compared with poly(ϵ‐decalactone), which lacks a ring structure in its backbone. Semirational enzyme engineering of the cyclohexanone monooxygenase from
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus
enabled the biosynthesis of the key lactone intermediate for the targeted polyester. As a proof of principle, one enzyme variant identified from screening in a microtiter plate was used in biocatalytic upscaling, which afforded the bicyclic lactone in 39 % conversion in shake flask scale reactions.
Today's society relies heavily on glued wood products for constructions, furniture, and floorings, for example. Essentially, all adhesives on the market are based on fossil-based resources, and many also contain formaldehyde to yield sufficient reactivity and adhesive performance. Formaldehyde is soon to be banned from consumer goods in Europe, due to its carcinogenic and allergenic features. With the rapidly growing societal environmental awareness, it becomes evident that it is crucial to seek greener, more sustainable alternatives. There is nothing new to this idea; on the contrary, prior to the advent of synthetic polymers, a range of biopolymers such as proteins and starch, were successfully used. However, since adhesives based on synthetic polymers were found to perform better, especially regarding the water resistance, the naturally sourced adhesives have had a subordinate role up until recently. The growing interest for using bio-polymers from renewable resources, such as wood/forest, corn, and cereals have spurred significant R&D developments toward the use of bio-polymers in green wood adhesives. The scope of the present chapter is to summarize, in short, some of the most recent scientific literature regarding the development of green adhesives.
In this work, the objective was to synthesize and evaluate the properties of a compatibilizer based on poly(ε-caprolactone) aimed at tuning the surface properties of cellulose fibers used in fiber-reinforced biocomposites. The compatibilizer is an amphiphilic block copolymer consisting of two different blocks which have different functions. One block is cationic, quaternized poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) and can therefore electrostatically attach to anionic reinforcing materials such as cellulose-based fibers/fibrils under mild conditions in water. The other block consists of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) which can decrease the surface energy of a cellulose surface and also has the ability to form physical entanglements with a PCL surface thereby improving the interfacial adhesion. Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) and Ring-Opening Polymerization (ROP) were used to synthesize three block copolymers with the same length of the cationic PDMAEMA block but with different lengths of the PCL blocks. The block copolymers form cationic micelles in water which can adsorb to anionic surfaces such as silicon oxide and cellulose-model surfaces. After heat treatment, the contact angles of water on the treated surfaces increased significantly, and contact angles close to those of pure PCL were obtained for the block copolymers with longer PCL blocks. AFM force measurements showed a clear entangling behavior between the block copolymers and a PCL surface at about 60 °C, which is important for the formation of an adhesive interface in the final biocomposites. This demonstrates that this type of amphiphilic block copolymer can be used to improve interactions in biocomposites between anionic reinforcing materials such as cellulose-based fibers/fibrils and less polar matrices such as PCL.
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