Nacre-inspired starch-based bioplastic with excellent mechanical strength and electromagnetic interference shielding

Di Xie; Rui Zhang; Shanshan Song; Siwen Yang; An Yang; Congcong Zhang; Yongming Song

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.121888

Nacre-inspired starch-based bioplastic with excellent mechanical strength and electromagnetic interference shielding

Carbohydr Polym. 2024 May 1:331:121888. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.121888. Epub 2024 Jan 29.

Authors

Di Xie¹, Rui Zhang¹, Shanshan Song¹, Siwen Yang¹, An Yang¹, Congcong Zhang¹, Yongming Song²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
² Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China; College of Home and Art Design, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China. Electronic address: ymsong@nefu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38388042
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.121888

Abstract

Bioplastics have aroused significant interest in researchers to relieve the serious environmental pollution caused by the ubiquity of petroleum-based plastics. However, it remains a great challenge to construct functional bioplastics with excellent mechanical strength, water resistance, and heat resistance. Inspired by the interesting structure of nacre, a novel starch-based bioplastic was prepared via a self-assembly technique, using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy-oxidized cellulose nanofibers modified starch, nano-montmorillonite, and reduced graphene oxide as raw materials. Due to the unique layered structure and rich interfacial interaction, the starch-based bioplastic exhibited excellent mechanical properties, while the tensile strength was up to 37.39 MPa. Furthermore, it represented outstanding water resistance, heat resistance, repairability, renewability and biodegradability. Especially, the starch-based bioplastic demonstrated a strong electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE), which was higher than 35 dB with a thickness of 0.5 mm. These powerful properties provided the possibility for functional applications of starch-based bioplastics.

Keywords: Bioplastic; Electromagnetic interference shielding; Mechanical properties; Nacre-inspired.