Rigid Oligomer from Lignin in Designing of Tough, Self-Healing Elastomers

Mengmeng Cui, Ngoc A. Nguyen, Peter V. Bonnesen, David Uhrig, Jong K. Keum, Amit K. Naskar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

Converting lignin into well-defined compounds is often challenged by structural complexation and inorganic contamination induced by the pulping process. In this report, instead of breaking down lignin into small molecules, we extracted a uniform and rigid oligomer from the lignin waste stream. The multifunctional polyphenol oligomer containing carboxylic acid, alcohol, and phenol groups is highly reactive and brings stiffness into the material matrix. Tough and self-healing elastomers are economically prepared from this oligomer by a reaction with epoxy-terminated polyethylene glycol, without needing any solvent. Specifically, the polyaromatic backbone's rigidity enhances the elastomer's toughness, and the multiple polar substituents form a network of hydrogen bonding that heals the elastomer. Many other applications, including adhesives, hydrogels, coating, and metal scavengers, are envisioned based on this oligomer's unique properties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1328-1332
Number of pages5
JournalACS Macro Letters
Volume7
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 20 2018

Funding

This research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725, was sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy BioEnergy Technologies Office Program. NMR, GPC, SAXS and cyclic stress−strain experiments were conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. We thank R. Chambers and T. Robinson for assistance with tensile testing, Y. Wang for help with cyclic stress-train testing and also K. Hong for help with materials characterization.

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