Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
Volume 215, Issue -, Pages 57-66Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.06.091
Keywords
Poly (L-lactic acid); PTFE nanofibril; Microcellular injection foaming; Mechanical properties; Thermal insulation
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [52175341, 51875318, 51905308, 51905307]
- Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program (Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project) [2019JZZY020205]
- Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation [ZR2020ME148]
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2020M672057, 2019M662352]
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University
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A novel and scalable strategy combining in-situ fibrillation and mold-opening microcellular injection molding (MOMIM) was developed to fabricate lightweight and tough PLLA/PTFE foams. The in-situ PTFE nanofibrils significantly improved the crystallization and viscoelasticity of PLLA, leading to enhanced foaming ability and improved mechanical properties.
High-performance microcellular polymer foams have been widely used all over the world, while the excessive usage of petroleum-based polymers caused serious environmental problems. As the eco-friendly awareness is increasing significantly, poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA), as a typical biomass polymer, has gradually attracted widespread attention. However, the slow crystallization and poor melt strength of PLLA lead to low foaming ability and thus limiting its industrial applications. Herein, a novel and scalable strategy by coupling in-situ fibrillation and mold-opening microcellular injection molding (MOMIM) was developed to fabricate light-weight and tough PLLA/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) foams. Thanks to the reticulated in-situ PTFE nanofibrils with a diameter of 100-200 nm, the crystallization and viscoelasticity of PLLA were dramatically promoted, and further contributing to its foaming ability. The expansion ratio of the MOMIM PLLA/PTFE foam was increased by 86 % compared with the regular microcellular injection molded (RMIM) PLLA foam. Moreover, the lower foam density and the toughening effect of PTFE nanofibrils resulted in the outstanding ductility of the PLLA/PTFE foams, whose tensile elongation, flexural strength, and impact strength were maximally increased by 52 %, 28 %, and 48 %, compared with PLLA foams. More importantly, the thermally-insulating performance and surface quality of PLLA/PTFE foams were also greatly improved.
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