Development of Lignin-Based Polyurethane Thermoplastics

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2013 · RSC Advances

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ra44794d· OSTI ID:1097471

Saito, Tomonori ^[1]; Perkins, Joshua H ^[1]; Jackson, Daniel C ^[1]; Trammell, Neil E ^[1]; Hunt, Marcus A ^[1]; Naskar, Amit K ^[1]

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1. ORNL

In our continued effort to develop value-added thermoplastics from lignin, here we report utilizing a tailored feedstock to synthesize mechanically robust thermoplastic polyurethanes at very high lignin contents (75 65 wt %). The molecular weight and glass transition temperature (Tg) of lignin were altered through cross-linking with formaldehyde. The cross-linked lignin was coupled with diisocyanate-based telechelic polybutadiene as a network-forming soft segment. The appearance of two Tg s, around 35 and 154 C, for the polyurethanes indicates the existence of two-phase morphology, a characteristic of thermoplastic copolymers. A calculated Flory-Huggins interaction parameter of 7.71 also suggests phase immiscibility in the synthesized lignin polyurethanes. An increase in lignin loading increased the modulus, and an increase in crosslink-density increased the modulus in the rubbery plateau region of the thermoplastic. This path for synthesis of novel lignin-based polyurethane thermoplastics provides a design tool for high performance lignin-based biopolymers.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL LDRD Director's R&D
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1097471
• Journal Information: RSC Advances, Journal Name: RSC Advances Journal Issue: 44 Vol. 3; ISSN 2046-2069
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English