High-Performance Polylactic Acid Materials Enabled by TiO₂–Polydopamine Hybrid Nanoparticles

Abstract

Poor ultraviolet (UV) stability of polylactic acid (PLA) partially restricts its applications under atmospheric conditions. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is a common and widely used UV-shielding agent, but detrimental effects often exists on the properties of polymers. In this study, we used polydopamine (PDA) to construct TiO 2 −PDA hybrid nanoparticles. The introduction of PDA can greatly reduce oxygen vacancies in TiO 2 , so as to better maintain the stability of the polymer matrix. TiO 2 −PDA hybrid nanoparticles were synthesized through simple steps and composited with PLA to prepare PLA/TiO 2 −PDA nanocomposites (noted as PLA/TP). The established PLA/TP films show excellent UV-shielding performance without sacrificing transparency (the transmittance at 550 nm is 85.7%). What's more, with 0.2 wt % nanoparticles added, the nanocomposite films have a good combination of strength and toughness. The performance improvement of PLA will broaden its application fields, making environmental materials have a wider range of uses and longer service life.

Surface modification of TiO2nanoparticles with organic molecules and their biological applications

“…TiO 2 NP-PDA was composited with polylactic acid (PLA) to prepare PLA/TiO 2 NP-PDA nanocomposites. 116 These nanocomposite films showed excellent UV-shielding performance without sacrificing transparency (the transmittance at 550 nm was 85.7%). PLA is very sensitive to UV light; however, due to the shielding effect of TiO 2 NPs-PDA in this film, the performance of PLA was improved, and it can broaden its application for environmental materials having a wider range of uses with a longer service life.…”

Durable Polylactic Acid (PLA)-Based Sustainable Engineered Blends and Biocomposites: Recent Developments, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…The poor ultraviolet (UV) stability of PLA restricts its use under atmospheric conditions. Zhang et al 186 added TiO 2 nanoparticles for the UV-shielding effect. For maintaining the stability of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix, TiO 2polydopamine (PDA) hybrid nanoparticles were developed.…”

Photoelectrochemical Enzyme Biosensor Based on TiO2 Nanorod/TiO2 Quantum Dot/Polydopamine/Glucose Oxidase Composites with Strong Visible-Light Response

“…After the PDA was loaded, the O 1 s peaks of the Ti–O–Ti and Ti–OH bonds were shifted 0.1 eV to the direction of low binding energy and a new peak appeared at 532.6 eV (Figure S1B), corresponding to the O in associative C–O/CO in the PDA layer . Compared with the O 1 s spectrum ratio of Ti–hydroxyl/Ti–O bonds in the spectrum of the TiO 2 NRs/TiO 2 QDs electrode, that in the spectrum of the TiO 2 NRs/TiO 2 QDs/PDA clearly increased, indicating that the PDA molecules might have reduced the number of oxygen vacancies by bonding well to the TiO 2 NRs/TiO 2 QDs . The N 1 s peak (Figure F) at 400.4 eV is attributed to the dopamine terminal group NH 3 + , indicating that the dopamine-coated TiO 2 NRs/TiO 2 QDs/PDA electrode was successfully prepared after photopolymerization …”

“…QDs electrode, that in the spectrum of the TiO 2 NRs/ TiO 2 QDs/PDA clearly increased, indicating that the PDA molecules might have reduced the number of oxygen vacancies by bonding well to the TiO 2 NRs/TiO 2 QDs 23. The N 1s peak (Figure1F) at 400.4 eV is attributed to the dopamine terminal group NH 3 +…”