Among the most abundant biomass, lignin is a prime feedstock to make sustainable materials. The polyphenolic structure and globular shape of lignin makes it a mechanically weak material to incorporate in polymer composites. Upon surface modification with functionalized groups, lignin can be crosslinked to create sustainable thermosets. These thermosets exhibit not only enhanced mechanical properties but also improved degradability. The first section of this work focuses on the synthesis of different crosslinkers to explore the structure-property relationship. Altering the crosslinking density and size of crosslinkers has a large impact on the hardness of the final materials. The second part describes the chemical recycling of these thermosets and their conversion back to initial motifs under acidic or basic environments.

Mechanically tunable and recyclable lignin thermosets via “click” chemistry and surface functionalization

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.