Premium
Biobased Contents of Biodegradable Poly( ε ‐caprolactone) Composites Polymerized and Directly Molded Using Aluminium Triflate from Caprolactone with Cellulose and Inorganic Filler
Author(s) -
Kunioka Masao,
Inuzuka Yoshifumi,
Ninomiya Fumi,
Funabashi Masahiro
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.200600037
Subject(s) - caprolactone , cellulose , composite number , materials science , composite material , polymerization , compression molding , filler (materials) , polymer , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , mold
Summary: Poly( ε ‐caprolactone) (PCL) composite samples were prepared by polymerization and direct molding. The starting compound was ε ‐caprolactone monomer liquid combined with cellulose and inorganic fillers, using aluminium triflate as a catalyst at 80 °C, for 6 or 24 h. Cylinder‐shaped PCL composite samples with a homogeneously dispersed cellulose filler were prepared with $\overline M _{\rm n}$ = 4 600 ( $\overline M _{\rm w} /\overline M _{\rm n}$ = 2.9). The mechanical properties of the PCL composite samples were studied using compression test methods. The strength of a PCL composite with 50 wt.‐% cellulose filler (10.8 MPa) was found to be lower than the PCL sample without fillers (19.2 MPa). The biobased content of the PCL composite with 50 wt.‐% cellulose filler (51.67%) measured using accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) was slightly higher than the carbon ratio of cellulose in the starting powder samples (41.3 mol‐%). The biobased content of the polymer composite powders by AMS was found not to be affected by the presence of inorganic fillers, such as talc. The rate and extent of biodegradation, caused by Amano Lipase PS, of the PCL composite sample with cellulose filler (40% degradation in 4 d) was the same as that of a PCL sample without the cellulose filler.