Ultra-high mechanical properties of porous composites based on regenerated cellulose and cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol)

Jian Teng; Biao Yang; Liang-Qing Zhang; Sheng-Qiang Lin; Ling Xu; Gan-Ji Zhong; Jian-Hua Tang; Zhong-Ming Li

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.090

Ultra-high mechanical properties of porous composites based on regenerated cellulose and cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol)

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Jan 1:179:244-251. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.090. Epub 2017 Sep 29.

Authors

Jian Teng¹, Biao Yang², Liang-Qing Zhang², Sheng-Qiang Lin³, Ling Xu², Gan-Ji Zhong⁴, Jian-Hua Tang⁵, Zhong-Ming Li²

Affiliations

¹ College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China; College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China.
² College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China.
³ College of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China.
⁴ College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: ganji.zhong@scu.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: jianhuatang@ckfc.asia.

PMID: 29111048
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.09.090

Abstract

The ultra-high mechanical, biocompatible and biodegradable porous regenerated cellulose/poly(ethylene glycol) (RC/PEG) composites with double network structure were fabricated via an simple method to dissolve cellulose followed by UV irradiation. The porous structure of RC/PEG was sensitively altered by PEG contents, which led to the porous structure morphology transition from 3D fibrillar network to close-grained sheet-like-network with the loading of cross-linked PEG. The porous RC/PEG showed excellent mechanical properties, i.e., the compressive strength can reach 33 times higher than that of neat RC (0.07MPa) at the compressive strain of 30%. Porous RC/PEG also displayed outstanding properties with openly porous structure and structural stabilization. Besides, porous RC/PEG exhibited good water absorbency, which the water absorbency ratio at equilibrium state was 83% higher than that of porous RC. This work provides an environmentally friendly and simple pathway to prepare non-toxic and biocompatible porous regenerated cellulose-based composites with high strength, structural stabilization and good water absorbency, which could be useful for packaging, biomedical applications, sewage purification, etc.

Keywords: 1-Hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (PubChem CID: 70355); Cellulose (PubChem CID: 14055602); Cross-linking; Mechanical properties; NaOH (PubChem CID: 14798); Poly(ethylene glycol); Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PubChem CID: 16212859); Porous structure; Regenerated cellulose; Tertiary butanol (PubChem CID: 6386); Urea (PubChem CID: 1176).