Durable and recyclable biomimetic glycol lignin/polyolefin compounds for a circular economy

文献情報

出版日 2024-01-02

DOI 10.1039/D3TA06230A

インパクトファクター 12.732

著者

Jonathon Tanks, Kenji Tamura, Thi Thi Nge, Tatsuhiko Yamada

原文を見る

要旨

Polyolefins are some of the most widely used plastics in the world due to being lightweight, low cost, and resistant to water and most chemicals. However, they are highly susceptible to photo-oxidative degradation under ultraviolet radiation, leading to environmental problems such as microplastic pollution, and furthermore making it difficult to recycle. In this paper, glycol-modified lignin (GL) is blended with polypropylene to form a bio-mimetic structure similar to human skin, in which melanin absorbs UV light and sunburned tissue is removed to reveal fresh skin. We show that GL acts as a simultaneous UV absorbent, antioxidant, and reinforcement, resulting in high retention of mechanical properties even after severe UV exposure, and nearly full recovery of the original properties after mechanical recycling. This performance is attributed to the compatibility of GL with maleic anhydride-grafted PP, which is greater than other types of lignin/polyolefin blends reported in the literature. This improves the durability and in-service performance of polyolefin-based composites and makes their end-of-life recycling possible. These results demonstrate the potential for more sustainable usage of polyolefins and biomass in various applications such as automobiles, containers, household items, and building components.

掲載誌

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

CiteScore: 19.5

自己引用率: 4.7%

年間論文数: 2211

Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B & C cover high quality studies across all fields of materials chemistry. The journals focus on those theoretical or experimental studies that report new understanding, applications, properties and synthesis of materials. The journals have a strong history of publishing quality reports of interest to interdisciplinary communities and providing an efficient and rigorous service through peer review and publication. The journals are led by an international team of Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors who are all active researchers in their fields. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B & C are separated by the intended application of the material studied. Broadly, applications in energy and sustainability are of interest to Journal of Materials Chemistry A, applications in biology and medicine are of interest to Journal of Materials Chemistry B, and applications in optical, magnetic and electronic devices are of interest to Journal of Materials Chemistry C. More than one Journal of Materials Chemistry journal may be suitable for certain fields and researchers are encouraged to submit their paper to the journal that they feel best fits for their particular article. Example topic areas within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry A are listed below. This list is neither exhaustive nor exclusive. Artificial photosynthesis Batteries Carbon dioxide conversion Catalysis Fuel cells Gas capture/separation/storage Green/sustainable materials Hydrogen generation Hydrogen storage Photocatalysis Photovoltaics Self-cleaning materials Self-healing materials Sensors Supercapacitors Thermoelectrics Water splitting Water treatment