Abstract
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable polymer showing excellent promise for application to environmentally sustainable materials. Among various biodegradable polymers, PCL comprises semicrystalline low-melting-point (∼60 °C) aliphatic polyesters, which simplify processing. However, disadvantageous mechanical properties limit the practical applications of PCL. In this study, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and PCL were subjected to in-situ polymerization to synthesize a CNC–PCL nanocomposite with improved mechanical properties compared to those of PCL. Additionally, solvent exchange was used to optimize the hydrophilic-CNC dispersion in the hydrophobic PCL matrix and ε-caprolactone monomer for the ring-opening polymerization. This approach was used to prepare a homogeneously dispersed 0.3 wt% CNC-loaded nanocomposite exhibiting a 1.4-fold-higher ultimate tensile strength of 61 MPa and 1.2-fold-increased elongation at break of 1,340%. Moreover, the PCL/CNC nanocomposite exhibited a tear toughness 1.7-fold higher than that of neat PCL and could broaden the industrial-application range of reinforced bioplastics.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Bio-Industrial Technology Development Program (20009198) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MI, Korea) and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) core project (KS2342-10). J.P. acknowledge the support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2015M3D3A1A01064926). H.J. acknowledges support from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, & Future Planning (2020R1C1C1003665). D.X.O. acknowledges support from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, & Future Planning (2022M3H4A1A03076577).
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HJ: Validation, formal analysis, investigation, original draft preparation. MK: Data curation, original draft preparation. SBP: Validation, formal analysis, investigation, original draft preparation. SK: Validation, formal analysis. ML: Validation, formal analysis. SP: Validation, formal analysis. SYH: Validation, formal analysis. JMK: Methodology and conceptualization, reviewing and editing, supervision. DXO: Methodology and conceptualization, reviewing and editing, supervision. JP: Methodology and conceptualization, reviewing and editing, supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Jeon, H., Kim, MS., Park, S.B. et al. Improved mechanical properties of biodegradable polycaprolactone nanocomposites prepared using cellulose nanocrystals. Cellulose 30, 11561–11574 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05615-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05615-9