Cellulose is the most abundant renewable natural polymers on the planet.  However, the majority of its applications are limited to relatively low value, non-thermoplastic applications such as pulp and paper.  Thermoplastic application of cellulose represents a potential opportunity for cellulose in higher value-added end uses.  In this work, the application of a cellulose ester �cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) was explored as an example of thermoplastic cellulose (TPC) polymer. CAB is a strong but rigid polymer, and its ductility is also quite limited.  To improve the mechanical properties of CAB, a relatively rigid biodegradable polymer, poly-3-droxybutyrate (PHB), was selected to blend with CAB under melt extrusion conditions.  A wide range of CAB/PHB blend compositions were prepared from 80/20 to 20/80, the polymer blends were also successfully converted into thin films.  Even though both CAB and PHA were polymers of low ductility, the melt blends of CAB and PHB were significantly more ductile than either CAB or PHB, unexpected synergy in ductility was observed.  Unusually low modulus films were obtained at certain blend compositions, totally unexpected from the properties of the two base polymers.  The SEM analysis of the films revealed that the CAB/PHB films had nano-toughened structure of the dispersed phase, resulting in the observed synergy in ductility of the polymer blends.  This work showed that it is possible to engineer polymer blends to achieve unexpected properties through innovative creation of novel nano-structured materials.

Synergistic nano-toughened materials from thermoplastic cellulose and microbial polyester

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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