Lignin/Poly(ε-Caprolactone) Blends with Tuneable Mechanical Properties Prepared by High Energy Ball-Milling

Polymer blends between lignin, a natural, widely available, no-cost material, and Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL), a biodegradable polymer, have been prepared using the 'clean', friendly to the environment, technique of the High Energy Ball Milling (HEBM). Two kinds of lignin have been used, Straw lignin, obtained through the Steam Explosion process (SE lignin), and/or Lignosulphonated one (LS lignin). The tensile mechanical tests have shown that, at certain specific compositions, the blends, in particular those with both SE and LS lignin, have good mechanical properties. In particular, by varying the blend composition it is possible to obtain materials with tuneable properties, therefore useful for different applications. Dynamic-Mechanical-Thermal Analysis (DMTA) reveals substantial immiscibility of the blends. Experiments of UV irradiation show that lignin acts as an UV stabilizer for PCL. The effect is higher with SE lignin, likely due to its low molecular weight, which allows the short lignin chains to diffuse more easily within the amorphous regions of PCL.