Renewable resource-based composites of recycled natural fibers and maleated polylactide bioplastic: Characterization and biodegradability

The thermal properties of composite materials composed of polylactide (PLA) and green coconut fiber (GCF) were evaluated. Blends containing maleic anhydride-grafted PLA (PLA-g-MA/GCF) exhibited noticeably superior thermal properties due to greater compatibility between the two components. The dispersion of GCF in the PLA-g-MA matrix was highly homogeneous as a result of ester formation, and the consequent creation of branched and cross-linked macromolecules, between the carboxyl groups of PLA-g-MA and the hydroxyl groups in GCF. In addition, the PLA-g-MA/GCF blend was more easily processed due to a lower melt viscosity. Each composite was subject to biodegradation tests in a Burkholderia cepacia BCRC 14253 compost. The bacterium completely degraded both the PLA and the PLA-g-MA/GCF composite films. Morphological observations indicated severe disruption of the film structure after 9-12 days of incubation. The PLA-g-MA/GCF (10 wt%) films were not only more biodegradable than those made of PLA, but also exhibited lower molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity, implying a strong connection between these characteristics and biodegradability.     

从天然动物丝到丝蛋白基材料的研究

作为具有优异综合力学性能的天然蛋白质纤维,丰产的动物丝特别是蚕丝长期伴随着人们的日常生活,近十余年来,各种具有特色的功能性丝蛋白基材料更是层出不穷.但在探索动物丝和丝蛋白基材料的过程中,动物丝纤维是经由蚕或蜘蛛等动物的纺器而纺制得到的简单事实往往被忽视;换言之,动物丝实际上是动物对丝蛋白进行体内“加工”后的产物,也是丝蛋白基材料中的一种.因此,天然动物丝中独特的各等级间构效关系与丝蛋白基材料的构效关系之间并不存在着必然的传承效应.本文着重介绍了我们在对动物丝和丝蛋白基材料探索中的经验和体会,即在强调以丝蛋白分子链结构与性能及其之间的关系为研究重点的基础上,从比较和发掘各种天然动物丝的特性入手,进而了解丝蛋白分子链在本体和溶液中的行为,并通过对动物丝蛋白分子链聚集态结构的调控,以达到设计制备一系列多形貌和多功能的动物丝蛋白基材料的目的.     

Effects of cellulose nanofibrils on the structure and properties on PVA nanocomposites

A green method—joint mechanical grinding and high pressure homogenization—was used to defibrillate paper pulp into nanofibrils. The prepared cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were then blended with PVA in an aqueous system to prepare transparent composite film. The size and morphology of the nanofibrils and their composites were observed, and the structure and properties were characterized. The results showed that CNFs are beneficial to improve the crystallinity, mechanical strength, Young’s modulus, T _g and thermal stability of the PVA matrix because of their high aspect ratio, crystallinity and good compatibility. Therefore, nano cellulosic fibrils were proven to be an effective reinforcing filler for the hydrophilic polymer matrix. Moreover, the green fabrication approaches will be helpful to build up biodegradable nanocomposites with wide applications in functional environmentally friendly materials.     

Foamed articles based on potato starch, corn fibers and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Single-use packaging materials made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) have been identified as suitable items to be replaced by biodegradable materials. Plates made with EPS represent a source of non-degradable waste that is difficult to collect and to recycle. Potato starch based foamed plates have been prepared by a baking process. Presently, foam plates have been prepared by baking aqueous mixtures of potato starch, corn fibers, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) inside a hot mold. The effects of the addition of corn fibers, a co-product of bio-ethanol production, on mechanical properties and moisture resistance of potato starch based foamed plates were investigated. The addition of corn fiber to potato starch batter increased baking time and an increased batter volume is needed to form a complete tray. The mechanical properties of the trays decreased with added corn fiber. In previous studies PVA has been added as aqueous solution to improve strength, flexibility, and water resistance of baked starch trays. In this study, 88% hydrolyzed PVA was added as a powder in the mixture, avoiding the time consuming and costly step of pre-dissolving the PVA. The addition of PVA to potato starch batters containing corn fiber mitigated the reduction in tensile properties seen in trays with added corn fiber. Starch-based trays produced with a high fiber ratio and PVA, showed improved water resistance.     

Effect of Silk Fibroin Reinforcement on the Properties of Potato Starch-Polyvinyl Alcohol Blend Films

Starch and polyvinyl alcohol composite films, reinforced with raw and methylmethacrylate-grafted silk fibroin particles, were prepared by the solution-casting method on leveled plates. Silk fibroin was used as reinforcement for starch and polyvinyl alcohol (St/PVA) blends in order to improve their mechanical and water-resistance properties. The composites were plasticized with citric acid and cross-linked with gluteraldehyde. The reinforced films showed an increase in tensile strength with decrease in elongation at break. The optimized samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and were studied for their antibacterial properties. The biodegradable behavior was studied by the soil burial method.     

竹纤维增强可生物降解复合材料研究进展

天然植物纤维增强可生物降解复合材料是一类性能优良、环境友好、可自然降解的绿色环保复合材料。众多天然植物纤维中,竹纤维不仅资源丰富、有优异的力学性能,还具有天然抗菌、除臭、吸湿放湿、抗紫外线等优点,广泛应用于复合材料的制备。本文对竹纤维增强可生物降解复合材料的增强体材料和基体材料特性、改性预处理方法、成型工艺和生物降解特性等性能评价的国内外研究现状进行了综述,同时还对竹纤维增强可生物降解复合材料的未来研究和发展趋势进行了展望。     

Impact of surface adaptation and Acacia nilotica biofiller on static and dynamic properties of sisal fiber composite

Nowadays, the awareness of the public along with strict legitimate forces over the use of polymers, the manufacturing and automotive industries started using the renewable materials. Since, natural fiber reinforced composites play vital role in developing lightweight structural materials, this study focuses on utilizing sisal fiber as reinforcement in polyester matrix along with natural filler. The influence of fiber length and fiber volume fraction on the mechanical properties of sisal fiber was studied initially. Test results revealed that the composite with 20?mm fiber length and 20-volume fraction composite has better mechanical properties. Furthermore, the effect of fiber surface modification has been analyzed using various chemical solutions such as NaOH, KMnO₄, stearic acid, and maleic acid. Of these, NaOH treatment enhances the mechanical properties of composite compared to all other cases. Finally, the influence of Acacia nilotica, a natural filler addition into the alkali-treated sisal fiber composite has been evaluated by mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties. It is found that the addition of natural filler and surface treatment has enhanced the properties of composites due to their synergetic effect. This effect improves the adhesion and uniform stress transfer among the reinforcements. The fiber surface morphology was evaluated using micrographs obtained from scanning electron microscope.     

细菌纤维素(BC)增强PVA/PVP复合水凝胶的制备及性能表征

通过冷冻-熔融法制备了细菌纤维素/聚乙烯醇/聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(BC/PVA/PVP)双网络复合水凝胶,并采用X射线衍射,红外光谱,扫描电镜,力学性能测试等手段对凝胶的结构和性能进行表征.研究发现PVA、PVP通过氢键作用均匀地吸附于纤维微丝周围,将BC纤维有效地分开,因而干燥后的复合凝胶在热水中浸泡后仍可恢复原状;X射线...     

高速搅拌对淀粉/聚乙烯醇共混物溶液成膜性能的影响

淀粉与聚乙烯醇（ＰＶＡ）溶液在高速搅拌下共混,可大大改善淀粉／ＰＶＡ共混薄膜的力学性能、透明性与耐水性,对其生物降解性有明显的影响．淀粉／ＰＶＡ共混体系在高速搅拌前后的光谱分析、显微观察、分子量及流变性能的测定表明,这些变化起因于高速搅拌增加了淀粉中直链淀粉的含量,同时提高了淀粉与ＰＶＡ共混溶液的稳定性,改善了淀粉／ＰＶＡ共混物薄膜的使用性能．     

Enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) biocomposites by matrix esterification using succinic anhydride

In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (Ecoflex?), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites' performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites' spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.     

PVA微晶交联和SA/PAA双网络协效增强增韧SA纤维

为了提高海藻酸钠(SA)纤维的断裂强度和断裂伸长率, 以丙烯酸(AA)为化学交联组分, SA为离子交联组分, 聚乙烯醇(PVA)为微晶交联组分, 采用湿法纺丝和冻融循环方法制备含有PVA微晶交联点和海藻酸钠/聚丙烯酸(SA/PAA)双网络结构的海藻酸钠/聚丙烯酸/聚乙烯醇(SA/PAA/PVA)复合纤维. 通过流变性能、 力学性能、 红外光谱、 X射线衍射仪(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)测试研究了交联剂N,N-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺(MBA)含量和PVA微晶交联对SA/PAA/PVA纺丝原液和复合纤维的结构与性能的影响. 结果表明, 当MBA质量分数为0.5%时, 纺丝原液的损耗模量(G″)最小, 可纺性最好, 复合纤维的断裂强度达到2.83 cN/dtex, 断裂伸长率达到9.38%, 比再生SA纤维分别提高了15.98%和38.96%; PVA冷冻之后形成微晶交联点并且PAA和PVA已经复合到体系中; PAA和PVA的加入提高了复合纤维的结晶度; 复合纤维的表面形貌趋于光滑和规整, 纤维断面更加致密.     

Role of Skin Layers on Mechanical Properties and Supercontraction of Spider Dragline Silk Fiber

Spider dragline silk is a composite biopolymer that harbors extraordinary mechanical characteristics, and consists of a hierarchically arranged protein core surrounded by outer “skin” layers. However, the contribution of the successive fiber layers on material properties has not been well defined. Here, the influence of the different components on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of dragline is investigated. The crystal structure and the mechanical properties are not changed significantly after the removal of skin constituents, indicating that the core region of dragline silk fibers determines the structural and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the outer layers have little influence on supercontraction, suggesting they do not function as protection against the penetration of water molecules. On the other hand, the outer layers offer some protection against protease digestion. The present study provides insight into how the function and structure of silk fibers are modulated and facilitates the design of silk‐inspired functional materials.     

蚕丝纤维/丝蛋白复合材料力学性能的优化

在制备具有良好力学性能的蚕丝纤维/丝蛋白复合材料的基础上,采用力学测试、扫描电镜以及广角X-射线衍射等手段,考察了溴化锂预处理和甲醇后处理这两种方法对蚕丝纤维/丝蛋白界面性能的影响.力学测试的结果表明,在相同纤维含量(如20 wt％)的情况下,采用6 mol L-1溴化锂对定向排列的蚕丝纤维预处理10 min,所得的蚕...     

蚕丝蛋白与硅溶胶复合材料的研究

采用动态力学测试手段(DMA)并结合扫描电镜和拉曼光谱等方法,考察了用桑蚕丝蛋白与二氧化硅水分散体系(硅溶胶)制备的复合材料的结构与性质.结果表明,在此共混体系中,直径约为100 nm的二氧化硅聚集体与丝蛋白连续相的界面相容性良好.动态力学测试发现,复合材料的动态力学性能在15℃到55℃范围相对于纯丝蛋白材料得到了改善,二氧化硅组分的加入对丝蛋白分子链段的运动性有所阻碍,从而导致了40℃模量损耗的消失.     

Mechanical property evaluation of glass–jute fiber reinforced polymer composites

The natural fibers such as jute, coir, hemp, sisal etc. are randomly used as reinforcements for composite materials because of its various advantages such as low cost, low densities, low energy consumption over conventional fibers. In addition, they are renewable as well as biodegradable, and indeed wide varieties of fibers are locally available. In this study, glass–jute fiber reinforced polymer composite is fabricated, and the mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact behavior are investigated. The materials selected for the studies were jute fiber and glass fiber as the reinforcement and epoxy resin as the matrix. The hand lay‐out technique was used to fabricate these composites. Fractured surface were comprehensively examined in scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine the microscopic fracture mode. A numerical procedure based on the finite element method was then applied to evaluate the overall behavior of this composite using the experimentally applied load. Results showed that by incorporating the optimum amount of jute fibers, the overall strength of glass fiber reinforced composite can be increased and cost saving of more than 30% can be achieved. It can thus be inferred that jute fiber can be a very potential candidate in making of composites, especially for partial replacement of high‐cost glass fibers for low load bearing applications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of urea and glycerol on functional properties of biodegradable PVA/xylan composite films

In recent years, numerous studies have focused on biodegradable plastics for agricultural applications. To improve the mechanical and hydrophobic properties, biodegradable xylan composite films containing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were successfully prepared by casting method in this work. A series of composite films at a PVA/xylan weight ratio of 3:1 under the addition of glycerol and urea were investigated. Influences of the urea and glycerol amounts on the functional properties of composite films such as hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, water vapor permeability (WVP), mechanical properties, solubility and degradability were comparatively investigated. Results showed that increasing the glycerol amount led to a decrease in tensile strength and an increase in elongation at break and WVP, while the addition of 1 % urea in composite films without glycerol had a positive impact on improving the water resistance of composite films; the contact angle and WVP values reached 114.68° and 4.11 × 10^?11 g m^?1 s^?1 Pa^?1. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR and a scanning electron microscope were used to confirm the compatibility of the PVA and xylan components. FTIR analysis displayed the intensity of hydroxyl groups of films became stronger with increasing amounts of glycerol, while the opposite results were obtained with an increase of the amount of urea. These indicated that glycerol could improve the miscibility between PVA and xylan, and the addition of urea could enhance the water resistance of composite films.     

Production and processing of spider silk proteins

Natural spider silk fibers have impressive mechanical properties (outperforming many man‐made fibers) and are, moreover, biocompatible, biodegradable, and produced under benign conditions (using water as a solvent at ambient temperature). The problems associated with harvesting natural spider silks inspired us to devise a method to produce spider silk‐like proteins biotechnologically (the first subject tackled in this highlight); we subsequently discuss their processing into various materials morphologies, and some potential technical and biomedical applications. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3957–3963, 2009     

Textile fabricated biodegradable composite stents with core-shell structure

This study proposes composite stents with core–shell structure. Biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) yarns are twisted and then coated with polycaprolactone/polyethylene glycol (PEG) blends. The coated yarns are weft knitted into braids and then thermally treated to form composite stents with core–shell structure. The morphological, mechanical, and biological characteristics of the formed composite stents are evaluated to determine the effects of PEG concentration. Results show that composite stents acquire the flexibility of PVA yarns and elasticity of weft knits. The presence of PEG positively influences composite stent performance. When the PEG concentration is 30 wt%, composite stents exhibit a compressive strength of 6.15 N and cell viability of 97.32% after a 24 h of culture. The selected materials are biodegradable, and the novel structure meets the requirements of bioresorbable vascular stent, which suggests that the proposed composite stents have good potential for advancement.     

肝素钠/聚乙烯醇复合水凝胶的制备与性能

通过循环冷冻-解冻法,制成了肝素钠/聚乙烯醇(HS/PVA)复合水凝胶材料。 探讨了不同质量分数肝素钠对复合水凝胶材料的可见光透过率、含水率、亲水性、力学性能以及肝素钠释放量的影响。 结果表明,复合水凝胶的可见光透过率为92%以上,溶胀平衡的含水率为72%~78%,亲水性较纯PVA水凝胶有所提升,拉伸强度和断裂伸长率都稍有下降。 细胞粘附实验结果表明,适量的肝素钠的释放可以达到减少细胞粘附的效果。 这种HS/PVA复合水凝胶材料有望用作人工角膜中心区材料。     

A nanofibrous composite membrane of PLGA-chitosan/PVA prepared by electrospinning

Tissue engineering scaffolds produced by electrospinning feature a structural similarity to the natural extracellular matrix. In this study, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were simultaneously electrospun from two different syringes and mixed on the rotating drum to prepare the nanofibrous composite membrane. The composite membrane was crosslinked by glutaraldehyde vapor to maintain its mechanical properties and fiber morphology in wet stage. Morphology, shrinkage, absorption in phosphate buffered solution (PBS) and mechanical properties of the electrospun membranes were characterized. Fibroblast viability on electrospun membranes was discussed by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay and cell morphology after 7 days of culture. Results indicated that the PBS absorption of the composite membranes, no matter crosslinked or not, was higher than the electrospun PLGA membrane due to the introduction of hydrophilic components, chitosan and PVA. After crosslinking, the composite membrane had a little shrinkage after incubating in PBS. The crosslinked composite membrane also showed moderate tensile properties. Cell culture suggested that electrospun PLGA-chitosan/PVA membrane tended to promote fibroblast attachment and proliferation. It was assumed that the nanofibrous composite membrane of electrospun PLGA-chitosan/PVA could be potentially used for skin reconstruction.