Sustainable clean production and application of hydrophobic straw lignocellulose nanosheets filled biodegradable films
Hongkun Wang, Jinfeng Liu, Qianqian Jiang, Xuran Liu, Min Wu, Yong Huang
Abstract
To promote green polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) films as an alternative to non-degradable petrochemical-based polymers, micro-nano straw lignocellulose sheets (LS) were prepared by a clean mechanochemical method with no solvent, and employed as nanofillers to address the shortcomings of poor water vapor barrier and UV-shielding properties of PBAT. The obtained LS, with a surface energy close to that of PBAT, had a diameter of about 2 −3 μm, the thickness of about 5 −10 nm and a contact angle of 116.8°. The dispersion and interaction with PBAT matrix were improved by modification of straw, the results showed that the mechanical properties of the PBAT/LS films were comparable to those of commercial PBAT films. Specifically, the hydrophobicity and large specific surface of the LS improved the water barrier properties of the film, the water vapor transmission coefficient (WVTC) of PBAT/LS films decreased by one order of magnitude compared with that of pure PBAT films, which was from 3.83 × 10 −11 g·m·m −2 ·s −1 ·Pa −1 to 2.54 × 10 −12 g·m·m −2 ·s −1 ·Pa −1 . Moreover, the total retention of lignin improved the UV-shielding properties, the films also completely blocked UV light at 200 −350 nm, which effectively protected the film from photoaging and increased durability for mulch and packaging films, indicating the great and cleaning application value. • Straw lignocellulose nanosheets were prepared by a clean one-step mechanochemical approach. • Modification of straw improves the dispersion and interaction with PBAT matrix. • Straw improves the water barrier and UV-shielding properties of PBAT films.