# Strategies for Improving Sustainability in the Development of High-Performance Styrenic Block Copolymers by Developing Blends with Cellulose Derivatives

## TL;DR

This paper explores combining styrenic block copolymers with cellulose derivatives to create sustainable, high-performance materials with improved properties.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in developing sustainable blends that maintain or enhance material properties while reducing environmental impact.

## Key findings

- Blending with cellulose derivatives improves structural and surface properties of styrenic block copolymers.
- The blends show enhanced thermal, mechanical, and electrical characteristics.
- The study provides practical guidelines for fabricating next-generation sustainable polymers.

## Abstract

Next-generation high-performance polymers require consideration as sustainable solutions. Here, to satisfy these criteria, we propose to combine high-performance styrenic block copolymers, a class of thermoplastic elastomer, with cellulose derivatives as a reinforcing agent with the aim of maintaining and/or improving structural and surface properties. A great advantage of the proposed blends is, besides their biocompatibility, a decrease in environmental impact due to blending with a natural polymer. Particularly, we focus on identifying the effect of different blending compounds and blend ratios on the morphological, structural, thermal, mechanical, electrical and cytotoxic characteristics of materials. This research provides, together with novel material formulations, practical guidelines for the design and fabrication of next-generation sustainable high-performance polymers.