School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province 225002, PR China.
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province 225002, PR China; Institute for Innovative Materials & Energy, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province 225002, PR China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Jun;269(Pt 1):132097. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132097. Epub 2024 May 6.
Biodegradable polymer blends filled with rod-like polysaccharide nanocrystals have attracted much attention because each component in this type of ternary composites is biodegradable, and the final properties are more easily tailored comparing to those of binary composites. In this work, chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) were used as nanofiller for the biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/polylactide (PLA) immiscible blend to prepare ternary composites for a crystallization study. The results revealed that the crystallization behavior of PCL/PLA blend matrices strongly depended on the surface properties of ChNCs. Non-modified ChNCs and modified ChNCs played completely different roles during crystallization of the ternary systems: the former was inert filler, while the latter acted as anti-nucleator to the PCL phase. This alteration was resulted from the improved ChNC-PCL affinity after modification of ChNCs, which was due to the 'interfacial dilution effect' and the preferential dispersion of ChNCs. This work presents a unique perspective on the nucleation role of ChNCs in the crystallization of immiscible PCL/PLA blends, and opens up a new application scenario for ChNCs as anti-nucleator.
填充棒状多糖纳米晶体的可生物降解聚合物共混物引起了广泛关注，因为这种三元复合材料中的每种成分都是可生物降解的，与二元复合材料相比，最终性能更容易调整。在这项工作中，甲壳素纳米晶体 (ChNC) 被用作可生物降解的聚己内酯 (PCL)/聚乳酸 (PLA) 不混溶共混物的纳米填料，以制备用于结晶研究的三元复合材料。结果表明，PCL/PLA 共混物基质的结晶行为强烈依赖于 ChNCs 的表面性能。未改性的 ChNC 和改性的 ChNC 在三元体系的结晶过程中起着完全不同的作用：前者是惰性填料，而后者则作为 PCL 相的反成核剂。这种变化是由于 ChNC 改性后 ChNC-PCL 亲和力的提高所致，这是由于“界面稀释效应”和 ChNC 的优先分散。这项工作为 ChNCs 在不混溶的 PCL/PLA 共混物结晶中的成核作用提供了独特的视角，并为 ChNCs 作为反成核剂开辟了新的应用场景。
