A New Class of Renewable Thermoplastics with Extraordinary Performance from Nanostructured Lignin‐Elastomers

Abstract

A new class of thermoplastic elastomers has been created by introducing nanoscale‐dispersed lignin (a biomass‐derived phenolic oligomer) into nitrile rubber. Temperature‐induced controlled miscibility between the lignin and the rubber during high shear melt‐phase synthesis allows tuning the material's morphology and performance. The sustainable product has unprecedented yield stress (15–45 MPa), strain hardens at large deformation, and has outstanding recyclability. The multiphase polymers developed from an equal‐mass mixture of a melt‐stable lignin fraction and nitrile rubber with optimal acrylonitrile content, using the method described here, show 5–100 nm lignin lamellae with a high‐modulus rubbery interphase. Molded or printed elastomeric products prepared from the lignin‐nitrile material offer an additional revenue stream to pulping mills and biorefineries.

A Solvent‐Free Synthesis of Lignin‐Derived Renewable Carbon with Tunable Porosity for Supercapacitor Electrodes

“…The lignin aggregates were described as "island in the sea" and "spaghetti andm eatball" when observed under electron microscopes. The GLB, 1-GLB, and 6-GLB samples are carbonized undoped lignin with no stabilization,1hs tabilization, and 6h stabilization, respectively.I ti sr emarkable that even at as low as 10 %N BR doping, aso pposed to the 60 %N BR loading in our previous studies, [11,13] carbon morphology with submicronscale pore structures can be produced. The investigated samples, namely GLB-D, 1-GLB-D, and 6-GLB-D, are the carbonized lignin NBR composites with no stabilization,1hs tabilization, and 6h stabilization, respectively.Notably,the "island in the sea" and "spaghetti and meatball" type morphologyw as retained through the carbonization and activation process.…”

“…[7,11,13] With this in mind,w ec arbonized a1 0wt% NBR-doped lignin ando bserved rough macroporous structures under as canning electron microscope (SEM, Figure 1a-c), which are independento f stabilization duration. The lignin aggregates were described as "island in the sea" and "spaghetti andm eatball" when observed under electron microscopes.…”

“…[7] Covalent bonds like ether linkages within lignin are thermally sensitive, [8] especially when they are next to phenolic rings, owing to the resonance effects with the P electron conjugation. [7,11] By utilizing lignin crosslinking with different polymers, novel green polymer products can be designed. [10] Concurrently,l ignin radicals can also attack the unsaturated C=Co nN BR, in turn, crosslinking with NBR.…”

“…[7,11] By utilizing lignin crosslinking with different polymers, novel green polymer products can be designed. [11] Similarly,N guyen et al made an NBR-lignin blend and demonstrated its use for shape memory and sensorapplications. [13a] Bova et al successfully produced high performing NBR-lignin blends consisting of asmall amount of low cost additivesl ike PEO and carbon black and having tensile strength up to 25 MPa and failure strain up to 140 %.…”

“…[7,11,13] Using this simpled esign principle, we aimed to synthesize a better porousc arbon from lignin and to improve its performance as supercapacitor electrode. To maximize the utilization of lignin as an industrial waste, a9 0% lignin loading was used across all samples.…”