Toughening by Nanodroplets: Polymer–Droplet Biocomposite with Anomalous Toughness

Wang, Yu; Li, Kai; Zhao, Xianhui; Tekinalp, Halil; Li, Tianyu; Ozcan, Soydan

doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.9b02677

Toughening by Nanodroplets: Polymer–Droplet Biocomposite with Anomalous Toughness

Journal Article · Fri Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Macromolecules

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b02677· OSTI ID:1649569

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Tekinalp, Halil ^[2]; Li, Tianyu ^[3]; ^[3]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Sichuan Univ., Chengdu (China)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

The development of new polymer composites is highly dependent on the design of novel fillers that can bring more benefits in the design and control of structure–property–function than conventional solid particles. Here, inspired by the unique coupling structures of tough mussel byssus, we employ nanodroplets of high-boiling-point oligomers as the liquid filler to fabricate a new class of polymer–droplet composites (PDCs). The combination of nanodroplets and chain end/tail modifier in PDCs finally generates soft-coupling structures with chain ends coupled by the nanodroplets. With this strategy, brittle poly(lactic acid) is successfully transformed into a tough bioplastic with toughness improved by over 2000% via a minimal amount of the modifiers (1.5 wt %). Moreover, the composites show unexpected speed-enhanced energy absorption capability. A soft-coupling toughening mechanism is further proposed for the first time to understand the PDCs’ mechanical properties. This work also indicates the potential of nanodroplets as a new tool for tuning the mechanical properties and even functions of polymer composites.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1649569

Journal Information:: Macromolecules, Journal Name: Macromolecules Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 53; ISSN 0024-9297

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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