Premium
Paper‐sheet biocomposites based on wood pulp grafted with poly(ε‐caprolactone)
Author(s) -
Bruce Carl,
Nilsson Camilla,
Malmström Eva,
Fogelström Linda
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.42039
Subject(s) - pulp (tooth) , materials science , polymerization , adhesive , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , grafting , polymer , polymer chemistry , composite material , caprolactone , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , medicine , pathology , engineering
Kraft pulp fibers were used as substrates for the grafting of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) from available hydroxyl groups through ring‐opening polymerization, targeting three different chain lengths (degree of polymerization): 120, 240, and 480. In a paper‐making process, paper‐sheet biocomposites composed of grafted fibers and neat pulp fibers were prepared. The paper sheets possessed both the appearance and the tactility of ordinary paper sheets. Additionally, the sheets were homogenous, suggesting that PCL‐grafted fibers and neat fibers were compatible, as demonstrated by both Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy microscopy and through dye‐labeling of the PCL‐grafted fibers. Finally, it was shown that the paper‐sheet biocomposites could be hot‐pressed into laminate structures without the addition of any matrix polymer; the adhesive joint produced could even be stronger than the papers themselves. This apparent and sufficient adhesion between the layers was thought to be due to chain entanglements and/or co‐crystallization of adjacent grafted PCL chains within the different paper sheets. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42039.