Abstract
Aiming to improve the poor miscibility between lignin and non-polar materials, alkali lignin (AL) was self-assembled into lignin reverse micelles (LRM) and blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to fabricate composite films. The particle size of AL increased from 3.5 nm to 130 nm after forming LRM, showing a uniform spherical morphology. The water droplet contact angle increased from 54° to 89°. Optimal and rheological analysis revealed that composite films exhibited good transparency, ultraviolet (UV)-blocking performance and low viscoelasticity after adding the nano LRM. Under the optimal dosage of 5 wt% LRM, the composite film can screen 93% UV rays, and the apparent viscosities, complex viscosities, storage and loss modulus of the mixture were the lowest. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the molecular interactions between lignin and HDPE. The average adhesion force between LRM and HDPE in dry air was 1.07 mN m−1, while that between AL and HDPE was 0.77 mN m−1. AFM experiments fundamentally demonstrated better compatibility between LRM and HDPE, which was beneficial for the improvement of UV-blocking, rheological properties, as well as their processability of LRM/HDPE films.
Funding source: National Natural Science Foundation of China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 21878113
Award Identifier / Grant number: 21606089
Award Identifier / Grant number: 21436004
Funding source: Central Universities
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2018JQ05
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2017B090903003
Funding source: Guangzhou Science and Technology Research Project of China
Award Identifier / Grant number: 201806010139
Award Identifier / Grant number: 201704030126
Funding statement: This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Funder ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001809 (21878113, 21606089, 21436004), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2018JQ05), Guangdong Province Science and Technology Research Project of China (2017B090903003) and Guangzhou Science and Technology Research Project of China (201806010139, 201704030126).
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2019-0091).
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