Biodegradable regenerated cellulose-dispersed composites with improved properties via a pickering emulsion process

Yunchong Zhang; Yang Jiang; Lei Han; Bijia Wang; Hong Xu; Yi Zhong; Linping Zhang; Zhiping Mao; Xiaofeng Sui

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.065

Biodegradable regenerated cellulose-dispersed composites with improved properties via a pickering emulsion process

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Jan 1:179:86-92. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.065. Epub 2017 Sep 22.

Authors

Yunchong Zhang¹, Yang Jiang¹, Lei Han¹, Bijia Wang¹, Hong Xu², Yi Zhong¹, Linping Zhang¹, Zhiping Mao¹, Xiaofeng Sui³

Affiliations

¹ Key Lab of Science and Technology of Eco-textile, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.
² Key Lab of Science and Technology of Eco-textile, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: hxu@dhu.edu.cn.
³ Key Lab of Science and Technology of Eco-textile, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: suixf@dhu.edu.cn.

PMID: 29111074
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.065

Abstract

Reinforcement of biodegradable polymers with nanocellulose is attractive yet the effectiveness is often compromised by uneven dispersion. In this work, a general method of preparing reinforced biodegradable composites using regenerated cellulose (RC) was developed. From an oil-in-water Pickering emulsion of PLA/methylene chloride stabilized with RC, uniformly dispersed RC/PLA composites was obtained. The resulting RC/PLA composites showed enhanced crystallization and tensile strength of up to 34% compared with the native PLA, while the transmittance in the visible range remained above 70%. The Pickering emulsion-based composition procedure is simple, environment friendly and cost effectively, which could be applied to preparation of other RC-reinforced biodegradable composites.

Keywords: Biodegradable composites; Pickering emulsion; Poly (lactic acid); Regenerated cellulose.