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Polymers
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Design and Modification of Bio-Based Polymers, Blends, and Composites II
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Design and Modification of Bio-Based Polymers, Blends, and Composites II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 8765

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Balázs Imre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
Interests: sustainable materials; polymers from renewable resources; polymer blends; polymer composites; compatibilization; carbohydrate chemistry; reactive processing; thermal analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Facing global challenges such as climate change, excessive plastic pollution, and the depletion of fossil resources, economies around the world have been slowly transforming themselves in recent decades, heading towards a more sustainable future. This process is driven by the increasing environmental awareness of our society that continues to affect legislation as well as the production, commercialization, and use of plastic materials. By utilizing natural building blocks and advanced polymerization techniques, a range of new, fully or partially bio-based polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and polyurethanes have been developed and marketed in the last few decades.

Polymers of natural origin are commonly applied in a range of areas, from food packaging and agriculture to pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, despite the increasing role these materials play in our lives, their estimated share of the global plastics market remains stagnant, at around only 1%. Compared with conventional alternatives, bio-based polymers are expensive to extract or synthesize and difficult to process, while their property profiles often do not match the requirements of large-scale applications. Intense research and development efforts in this field continue to yield solutions to these challenges through technological innovations and the design of new materials, often by blending or the incorporation of fillers and reinforcements.

This Special Issue of Polymers aims to showcase the most recent developments in the synthesis, modification, processing, and characterization of renewable polymeric materials, with a particular focus on heterogeneous systems: polymer blends and composites, (nano)fillers and reinforcements, and hydrogels and aerogels. Besides original research papers, review articles are also warmly welcomed and will be considered for publication as part of the Special Issue.

Dr. Balázs Imre
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural building blocks
  • bio-based polymers
  • polymer blends
  • polymer composites
  • natural fibers
  • polymer hydrogels
  • polymer aerogels
  • compatibilization
  • reactive processing
  • ring-opening polymerization

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 3994 KiB  
Article
Biosynthesis and Properties of Sulfur-Containing Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) Produced by Wild-Type Strain Cupriavidus necator B-10646
by Natalia O. Zhila, Kristina Yu. Sapozhnikova, Arina V. Berezovskaya, Evgeniy G. Kiselev, Ekaterina I. Shishatskaya, Aleksander D. Vasiliev, Sabu Thomas and Tatiana G. Volova
Polymers 2023, 15(4), 1005; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15041005 - 17 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1874
Abstract
The study addresses the growth of the wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator B-10646 and the synthesis of sulfur-containing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by this strain on media containing fructose and three different precursors (3-mercaptopropionic acid, 3′,3′-dithiodipropionic acid and 3′,3′-thiodipropionic acid). By varying the concentration and number [...] Read more.
The study addresses the growth of the wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator B-10646 and the synthesis of sulfur-containing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by this strain on media containing fructose and three different precursors (3-mercaptopropionic acid, 3′,3′-dithiodipropionic acid and 3′,3′-thiodipropionic acid). By varying the concentration and number of doses of the precursors added into the bacterial culture, it was possible to find conditions that ensure the formation of 3-mercaptopropionate (3MP) monomers from the precursors and their incorporation into the C-chain of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). A series of P(3HB-co-3MP) copolymer samples with different content of 3MP monomers (from 2.04 to 39.0 mol.%) were synthesized and the physicochemical properties were studied. The effect of 3MP monomers is manifested in a certain decrease in the molecular weight of the samples and an increase in polydispersity. Temperature changes are manifested in the appearance of two peaks in the melting region with different intervals regardless of the 3MP content. The studied P(3HB-co-3MP) samples, regardless of the content of 3MP monomers, are characterized by equalization of the ratio of the amorphous and crystalline phases and have a close degree of crystallinity with a minimum of 42%, = and a maximum of 54%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Modification of Bio-Based Polymers, Blends, and Composites II)
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12 pages, 399 KiB  
Article
Amino Acids as Bio-Based Curing Agents for Epoxy Resin: Correlation of Network Structure and Mechanical Properties
by Florian Rothenhäusler and Holger Ruckdaeschel
Polymers 2023, 15(2), 385; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020385 - 11 Jan 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3061
Abstract
Bio-based alternatives for petroleum-based thermosets are crucial for implementing sustainable practices in fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Therefore, the mechanical properties of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a (DGEBA) cured with either l-arginine, l-citrulline, γ-aminobutyric acid, l-glutamine, l-tryptophan, or l-tyrosine [...] Read more.
Bio-based alternatives for petroleum-based thermosets are crucial for implementing sustainable practices in fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Therefore, the mechanical properties of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a (DGEBA) cured with either l-arginine, l-citrulline, γ-aminobutyric acid, l-glutamine, l-tryptophan, or l-tyrosine were investigated to determine the potential of amino acids as bio-based curing agents for epoxy resins. Depending on the curing agent, the glass transition temperature, Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and critical stress intensity factor range from 98.1 ∘C to 188.3 ∘C, 2.6 GPa to 3.5 GPa, 39.4 MPa to 46.4 MPa, and 0.48 MPam0.5 to 1.34 MPam0.5, respectively. This shows that amino acids as curing agents for epoxy resins result in thermosets with a wide range of thermo-mechanical properties and that the choice of curing agent has significant influence on the thermoset’s properties. After collecting the results of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile, flexural, compression, and compact tension tests, the functionality f, cross-link density νC, glass transition temperature Tg, Young’s modulus ET, compression yield strength σCy, critical stress intensity factor in mode I KIC, fracture energy GIC, and diameter of the plastic zone dp are correlated with one another to analyze their inter-dependencies. Here, the cross-link density correlates strongly positively with Tg, ET, and σCy, and strongly negatively with KIC, GIC, and dp. This shows that the cross-link density of DGEBA cured with amino acids has a crucial influence on their thermo-mechanical properties and that the thermosets considered may either be stiff and strong or tough, but hardly both at the same time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Modification of Bio-Based Polymers, Blends, and Composites II)
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Review

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15 pages, 1761 KiB  
Review
Polylactic Acid/Lignin Composites: A Review
by Kang Shi, Guoshuai Liu, Hui Sun and Yunxuan Weng
Polymers 2023, 15(13), 2807; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15132807 - 25 Jun 2023
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3307
Abstract
With the gradual depletion of petroleum resources and the increasing global awareness of environmental protection, biodegradable plastics are receiving more and more attention as a green substitute for traditional petroleum-based plastics. Poly (lactic acid) is considered to be the most promising biodegradable material [...] Read more.
With the gradual depletion of petroleum resources and the increasing global awareness of environmental protection, biodegradable plastics are receiving more and more attention as a green substitute for traditional petroleum-based plastics. Poly (lactic acid) is considered to be the most promising biodegradable material because of its excellent biodegradability, biocompatibility, and good processability. However, the brittleness and high cost limit its application in more fields. Lignin, as the second largest renewable biopolymer in nature after cellulose, is not only rich in reserves and low in cost, but it also has an excellent UV barrier, antioxidant activity, and rigidity. The molecular structure of lignin contains a large number of functional groups, which are easy to endow with new functions by chemical modification. Currently, lignin is mostly treated as waste in industry, and the value-added utilization is insufficient. The combination of lignin and poly (lactic acid) can on the one hand solve the problems of the high cost of PLA and less efficient utilization of lignin; on the other hand, the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass in compounding with biodegradable synthetic polymers is expected to afford high-performance wholly green polymer composites. This mini-review summarizes the latest research achievements of poly (lactic acid)/lignin composites. Emphasis was put on the influence of lignin on the mechanical properties of its composite with poly (lactic acid), as well as the compatibility of the two components. Future research on these green composites is also prospected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Modification of Bio-Based Polymers, Blends, and Composites II)
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