Bio-Based Polyether from Limonene Oxide Catalytic ROP as Green Polymeric Plasticizer for PLA

TL;DR

This study develops a bio-based polymeric plasticizer from limonene oxide via catalytic ring-opening polymerization, enhancing PLA's flexibility, thermal stability, and hydrophobicity for sustainable packaging applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new green polymeric additive derived from renewable resources using an earth-abundant metal catalyst, improving PLA properties for industrial use.

Findings

PLA flexibility increased with 10 wt % PLO addition

Thermal stability of PLA improved

Hydrophobicity of PLA enhanced

Abstract

In this work, the polymerization of Limonene Oxide (LO) has been achieved using an Earth abundant metal-based catalyst developed in our group, that is very active in ring opening polymerization (ROP) processes. The bio-based polylimonene ether (PLO) obtained had low molecular weight and good thermal properties, thus being a potential green polymeric additive for other bio-based polymers such as PLA. Hence, we have explored its ability to influence PLA properties. The addition of only 10 wt %, led to the modification and improvement of PLA properties in terms of flexibility, thermal stability, and hydrophobicity. The results obtained are promising and open up the potential industrial application of polylimonene oxide (PLO) for the melt-processing of blends based on PLA/PLO. These new materials are totally based on renewable sources and may be interesting for many applications where biodegradability and reduced water adsorption is required, such as food packaging or agricultural mulch films.