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Abstract Creating a sustainable economy for plastics demands the exploration of new strategies for efficient management of mixed plastic waste. The inherent incompatibility of different plastics poses a major challenge in plastic mechanical recycling, resulting in phase‐separated materials with inferior mechanical properties. Here, this study presents a robust and efficient dynamic crosslinking chemistry that effectively compatibilizes mixed plastics. Composed of aromatic sulfonyl azides, the dynamic crosslinker shows high thermal stability and generates singlet nitrene species in situ during solvent‐free melt‐extrusion, effectively promoting C─H insertion across diverse plastics. This new method demonstrates successful compatibilization of binary polymer blends and model mixed plastics, enhancing mechanical performance and improving phase morphology. It holds promise for managing mixed plastic waste, supporting a more sustainable lifecycle for plastics.
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This content will become publicly available on March 20, 2026
Modifying bacterial cellulose dispersions with deep eutectic solvent and pectin to tune the properties of open-celled foams
The overconsumption of plastics has led to a significant micro/nanoplastics pollution problem, driving an urgent need for sustainable alternatives. Synthetic polymer foams such as expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyethylene (PE), and polyurethane (PU), contribute significantly to plastic waste, often ending up in landfills after short service lives. In this article, we present a comprehensive investigation of bacterial cellulose (BC)/pectin composite foams, focusing on how modifications to the biopolymer network and macromolecular interactions influence colloidal and solid-state properties. By treating BC with a citric acid-based deep eutectic solvent (DES), we enhance its colloidal stability, achieving a zeta potential 81.2% more negative, and improve the compressive strength of the resulting foams by 23.8%. Introducing pectin further transforms the structure of the BC network, and significantly alters its electrostatic and rheological properties. The zeta potential reaches absolute values as high as 30.3 mV at 80% pectin, while the recoverability increases and the storage and loss moduli decrease with increasing pectin concentration. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) reveals modifications in the network structure that provide insight into the substantial changes in the morphological and mechanical properties of the foams. The resulting binary biopolymer foams demonstrate strength and stiffness rivaling those of synthetic polymer foams of similar density. Overall, we demonstrate the critical role of colloidal interactions in tuning the mechanical properties of binary biopolymer solid foams, and highlight the potential of this sustainable and biodegradable system to address pressing environmental issues caused by plastic waste.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2332640
- PAR ID:
- 10627978
- Publisher / Repository:
- RSC
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- RSC Applied Polymers
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2755-371X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 407 to 419
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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