Amorphous Sugar Materials as Sustainable and Scalable Alternatives for Rigid, Short-Term-Use Products

Abstract

Plastics are the prevailing materials for short-term-use applications, despite being designed to last far longer than often is needed or desired. This article describes a class of materials that are formed from small-molecule sugars, rather than polymers, as a scalable and environmentally friendly replacement for rigid thermoplastics for short-term-use applications. The materials use amorphous isomalt as a matrix and natural additives to tune the mechanical properties. Like plastics, this class of materials is lightweight and can be produced efficiently at low temperatures via injection molding, yet the materials emulate the rigidity and strength of ceramics and stones. Repeated recycling is achieved via a closed-loop process without degradation of the isomalt binder and without loss of mechanical properties. Finally, these materials are resistant to water for hours when coated, yet ultimately dissolve within minutes when broken, with the resulting products being nontoxic small-molecule and degradable biobased materials. This combination of traits makes amorphous isomalt materials suitable as an alternative to persistent plastics in short-term-use applications.