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Polymers
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Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites
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Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 16539

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Viera Khunová

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Institute of natural and synthetic polymers, Radlinskeho 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: polymer nanocomposites; nanofibers; biopolymers; halloysite nanotubes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been a strong research focus on development of a new class of materials based on biopolymers and inorganic nanofillers, namely, bio-composites. These types of hybrid materials have a great potential for application in biomedicine, food packaging, electronics, biosensors and more. In particular, due to their unique properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, chemical versatility and reactivity bio-nanocomposites present enormous potential for environmental and biomedical applications.

This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive collection of the latest developments in functional bio-composites. The Special Issue covers the synthesis, processing, characterization, and application of various biopolymer based composites with special functions. Topics may include the synthesis of multifunctional polymer nanocomposites, the modification of natural and synthetic nanofillers, e.g. carbon nanotubes, graphene, layered inorganic fillers, etc. Both review and regular original papers that address multifunctional polymer nanocomposites are welcome.

Dr. Viera Khunová
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bio-composites
  • multifunctional
  • nanocomposites
  • biopolymers
  • nanofillers
  • modification

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4480 KiB  
Article
Roles of Chitosan as Bio-Fillers in Radiation-Vulcanized Natural Rubber Latex and Hybrid Radiation and Peroxide-Vulcanized Natural Rubber Latex: Physical/Mechanical Properties under Thermal Aging and Biodegradability
by Arkarapol Thumwong, Worawat Poltabtim, Patcharaporn Kerdsang and Kiadtisak Saenboonruang
Polymers 2021, 13(22), 3940; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13223940 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2914
Abstract
Although natural rubber was regarded as biodegradable, the degradation is a time-consuming process that could take weeks or months for any degradation or substantial weight loss to be observable, resulting in the need for novel processes/methods to accelerate the rubber degradation. As a [...] Read more.
Although natural rubber was regarded as biodegradable, the degradation is a time-consuming process that could take weeks or months for any degradation or substantial weight loss to be observable, resulting in the need for novel processes/methods to accelerate the rubber degradation. As a result, this work investigated the potential utilization of chitosan (CS) as a biodegradation enhancer for radiation-vulcanized natural rubber latex (R-VNRL) and hybrid radiation and peroxide-vulcanized natural rubber latex (RP-VNRL) composites, with varying CS contents (0, 2, 4, or 6 phr). The R-VNRL samples were prepared using 15 kGy gamma irradiation, while the RP-VNRL samples were prepared using a combination of 0.1 phr tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHPO) and 10 kGy gamma irradiation. The properties investigated were biodegradability in the soil and the morphological, chemical, mechanical, and physical properties, both before and after undergoing thermal aging. The results indicated that the biodegradability of both the R-VNRL and RP-VNRL composites was enhanced with the addition of CS, as evidenced by increases in the percentage weight loss (% weight loss) after being buried in soil for 8 weeks from 6.5 ± 0.1% and 6.4 ± 0.1% in a pristine R-VNRL and RP-VNRL samples, respectively, to 10.5 ± 0.1% and 10.2 ± 0.1% in 6-pph CS/R-VNRL and 6-pph CS/RP-VNRL composites, respectively, indicating the biodegradation enhancement of approximately 60%. In addition, the results revealed that the addition of CS could increase the value of tensile modulus by 119%, while decrease the values of tensile strength and elongation at break by 50% and 43%, respectively, in the specimens containing 6-phr CS. In terms of the color appearances, the samples were lighter and yellower after the addition of CS, as evidenced by the noticeably increased L* and b* values, based on the CIE L*a*b* color space system. Furthermore, the investigation into the effects of thermal aging showed that the overall tensile properties for both curing systems were reduced, while varying degrees of color change were observed, with the pristine R-VNRL and RP-VNRL samples having more pronounced degradation/changes for both properties. In conclusion, the overall results suggested that CS had great potential to be applied as a bio-filler in R-VNRL and RP-VNRL composites to effectively promote the biodegradability, environmental friendliness, and resistance to thermal degradation of the composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites)
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15 pages, 42169 KiB  
Article
Multifunctional Electrospun Nanofibers Based on Biopolymer Blends and Magnetic Tubular Halloysite for Medical Applications
by Viera Khunová, David Pavliňák, Ivo Šafařík, Martin Škrátek and František Ondreáš
Polymers 2021, 13(22), 3870; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13223870 - 9 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2767
Abstract
Tubular halloysite (HNT) is a naturally occurring aluminosilicate clay with a unique combination of natural availability, good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, and functionality. This study explored the effects of magnetically responsive halloysite (MHNT) on the structure, morphology, chemical composition, and magnetic and mechanical [...] Read more.
Tubular halloysite (HNT) is a naturally occurring aluminosilicate clay with a unique combination of natural availability, good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, and functionality. This study explored the effects of magnetically responsive halloysite (MHNT) on the structure, morphology, chemical composition, and magnetic and mechanical properties of electrospun nanofibers based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatine (Gel) blends. MHNT was prepared via a simple modification of HNT with a perchloric-acid-stabilized magnetic fluid–methanol mixture. PCL/Gel nanofibers containing 6, 9, and 12 wt.% HNT and MHNT were prepared via an electrospinning process, respecting the essential rules for medical applications. The structure and properties of the prepared nanofibers were studied using infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and electron microscopy (SEM, STEM) along with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), magnetometry, and mechanical analysis. It was found that the incorporation of the studied concentrations of MHNT into PCL/Gel nanofibers led to soft magnetic biocompatible materials with a saturation magnetization of 0.67 emu/g and coercivity of 15 Oe for nanofibers with 12 wt.% MHNT. Moreover, by applying both HNT and MHNT, an improvement of the nanofibers structure was observed, together with strong reinforcing effects. The greatest improvement was observed for nanofibers containing 9 wt.% MHNT when increases in tensile strength reached more than two-fold and the elongation at break reached a five-fold improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites)
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15 pages, 29372 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on Hexavalent Chromium Adsorption onto Chitosan and Chitosan-Based Composites
by Rachid El Kaim Billah, Moonis Ali Khan, Young-Kwon Park, Amira AM, Hicham Majdoubi, Younesse Haddaji and Byong-Hun Jeon
Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3427; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13193427 - 6 Oct 2021
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 3397
Abstract
Chitosan (Cs)-based composites were developed by incorporating silica (Cs–Si), and both silica and hydroxyapatite (Cs–Si–Hap), comparatively tested to sequester hexavalent (Cr(VI)) ions from water. XRD and FT-IR data affirmed the formation of Cs–Si and Cs–Si–Hap composite. Morphological images exhibits homogeneous Cs–Si surface, decorated [...] Read more.
Chitosan (Cs)-based composites were developed by incorporating silica (Cs–Si), and both silica and hydroxyapatite (Cs–Si–Hap), comparatively tested to sequester hexavalent (Cr(VI)) ions from water. XRD and FT-IR data affirmed the formation of Cs–Si and Cs–Si–Hap composite. Morphological images exhibits homogeneous Cs–Si surface, decorated with SiO2 nanoparticles, while the Cs–Si–Hap surface was non-homogeneous with microstructures, having SiO2 and Hap nanoparticles. Thermal analysis data revealed excellent thermal stability of the developed composites. Significant influence of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, temperature, and coexisting anions on Cr(VI) adsorption onto composites was observed. Maximum Cr(VI) uptakes on Cs and developed composites were observed at pH 3. The equilibration time for Cr(VI) adsorption on Cs–Si–Hap was 10 min, comparatively better than Cs and Cs–Si. The adsorption data was fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with respective maximum monolayer adsorption capacities (qm) of 55.5, 64.4, and 212.8 mg/g for Cs, Cs–Si, and Cs–Si–Hap. Regeneration studies showed that composites could be used for three consecutive cycles without losing their adsorption potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites)
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18 pages, 4283 KiB  
Article
Properties and Degradation Performances of Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Blends and Keratin Composites
by Martin Danko, Katarína Mosnáčková, Anna Vykydalová, Angela Kleinová, Andrea Puškárová, Domenico Pangallo, Marek Bujdoš and Jaroslav Mosnáček
Polymers 2021, 13(16), 2693; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13162693 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3344
Abstract
From environmental aspects, the recovery of keratin waste is one of the important needs and therefore also one of the current topics of many research groups. Here, the keratin hydrolysate after basic hydrolysis was used as a filler in plasticized polylactic acid/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) blend [...] Read more.
From environmental aspects, the recovery of keratin waste is one of the important needs and therefore also one of the current topics of many research groups. Here, the keratin hydrolysate after basic hydrolysis was used as a filler in plasticized polylactic acid/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) blend under loading in the range of 1–20 wt%. The composites were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, and the effect of keratin on changes in molar masses of matrices during processing was investigated using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Thermal properties of the composites were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effect of keratin loading on the mechanical properties of composite was investigated by tensile test and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. Hydrolytic degradation of matrices and composites was investigated by the determination of extractable product amounts, GPC, DSC and NMR. Finally, microbial growth and degradation were investigated. It was found that incorporation of keratin in plasticized PLA/PHB blend provides material with good thermal and mechanical properties and improved degradation under common environmental conditions, indicating its possible application in agriculture and/or packaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites)
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16 pages, 2753 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Presence of Disulphide Bonds in Aromatic or Aliphatic Dicarboxylic Acid Hardeners Used to Produce Reprocessable Epoxidized Thermosets
by Chiara Di Mauro and Alice Mija
Polymers 2021, 13(4), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13040534 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2925
Abstract
The design of polymers from renewable resources with recycling potential comes from economic and environmental problems. This work focused on the impact of disulphide bonds in the dicarboxylic acids reactions with three epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs). For the first time, the comparison between [...] Read more.
The design of polymers from renewable resources with recycling potential comes from economic and environmental problems. This work focused on the impact of disulphide bonds in the dicarboxylic acids reactions with three epoxidized vegetable oils (EVOs). For the first time, the comparison between aromatic vs. aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, containing or not S–S bonds with EVOs was discussed and evaluated by dynamic scanning calorimetry. The obtained thermosets showed reprocessability, by the dual dynamic exchange mechanism. The virgin and reprocessed materials were characterized and the thermomechanical properties were compared. The thermosets derived from EVOs with high epoxy content combined with aromatic diacids containing disulphide bridges showed high glass transition values (~111 °C), high crosslink densities and good solvent stability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis and Applications of Functional Biopolymer Composites)
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