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Refractive Index Engineering as a Novel Strategy toward Highly Transparent and Tough Sustainable Polymer Blends

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Abstract

High transparency and toughness are prerequisites for sustainable polymers if they are to find wide application as alternatives to petroleum-based polymers. However, the utility of sustainable polymers such as commercially available polylactide (PLA) is limited by their inherent brittleness and high cost. Unfortunately, toughening PLA-based materials via cost-effective blending strategies without sacrificing transparency remains a challenge. Herein, we report a novel strategy involving active refractive index matching for creation of highly transparent and tough PLA blends. Specifically, we engineered the refractive index of a promising renewable poly(epichlorohydrin-co-ethylene oxide) elastomer by introducing polar ionic moieties via a simple chemical method, and we blended the resulting ionomers with PLA. The best blend showed an impact strength of > 80 kJ/m2, an elongation at break of 400%, and high transparency (90%). These characteristics are of great importance for potential applications such as packaging. Our strategy offers a versatile new way to prepare high-performance sustainable polymer materials with excellent transparency.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51573130).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Si-Ting Sun, Hang Wang, Dong Huang, Ying-Li Ding & Kun-Yu Zhang

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Yang Zhang

  3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Dong-Po Song, Li Pan & Yue-Sheng Li

  4. Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China

    Yue-Sheng Li

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  1. Si-Ting Sun
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  2. Hang Wang
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  5. Yang Zhang
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  8. Li Pan
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Correspondence to Kun-Yu Zhang or Li Pan.

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Sun, ST., Wang, H., Huang, D. et al. Refractive Index Engineering as a Novel Strategy toward Highly Transparent and Tough Sustainable Polymer Blends. Chin J Polym Sci 38, 1335–1344 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-020-2439-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-020-2439-1

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