Penghui Li^1,2, Zhengwei Jiang², Chi Yang², Jianpeng Ren^1,2, Bo Jiang^1,2, Wenjuan Wu^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.5, pp. 2233-2248, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.025279

Abstract Lignin is a natural polymer, second only to cellulose in natural reserves. Degradation is one of the ways to achieve the high-value transformation of lignin. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) thermal degradation of lignin can be used as an excellent green degradation method. This paper introduces the degradation mechanism and effect of the lactic acid-choline chloride DES system in dissolving and degrading alkaline lignin, and the final solvent recovery. It can also be found from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images that the surface of the degraded solid product is transformed from smooth to disordered. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and… More > Graphic Abstract

Wenli Gu¹, Shiyi Zeng¹, Assima Dauletbek², Bin Xu^1,3,*, Xinzhou Wang¹, Man Yuan¹, Yanni Gu¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.2, pp. 385-399, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.016457

Abstract Bamboo vascular bundle fiber and parenchyma (BP) are separated by high-temperature treatment with saturated steam. Bamboo vascular bundle fiber is widely used in the market, but how to develop and utilize parenchyma tissue is a difficult problem. The sulfated cellulose nanofibers (ANFs) were obtained by sulfating BP with a deep eutectic solvent (DES), which provided a theoretical basis for the value-added utilization of BP. Using DES as the reaction medium and reagent, the BP was grafted with a sulfonic acid group to form a gel substance in water, ANFs and nanocellulose gel were obtained by ultrasonic cell crusher. The highest… More > Graphic Abstract

Lei Tan, Liangxian Liu, Chaodong Liu, Weihong Wang^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.11, pp. 1897-1911, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.016418

Abstract As the most favorable alternative to petroleum-based polymers, polylactic acid (PLA) which is the most promising degradable polymer has attracted increasing attention. However, the addition of cellulose to improve its strength often results in a reduction in its toughness. In this work, microscale cellulose is first prepared from pulp fibers by using a deep eutectic solvent, and then is used as the reinforcement of PLA. A microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)/PLA sheet with uniform texture is obtained by the solution mixing, melt blending, hot-pressing and cold-pressing process. The effects of MCC on the crystallization, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the PLA… More >

Lifen Li¹, Zhigang Wu¹, Xuedong Xi², Baoyu Liu³, Yan Cao³, Hailong Xu³, Yingcheng Hu^4,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.2, pp. 219-235, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.012099

Abstract Lignin is an abundant renewable macromolecular material in nature, and degradation of lignin to improve its hydroxyl content is the key to its efficient use. Alkali lignin (AL) was treated with Brønsted acidic deep eutectic solvent (DES) based on choline chloride and p-toluenesulfonic acid at mild reaction temperature, the structure of the lignin before and after degradation, as well as the composition of small molecules of lignin were analyzed in order to investigate the chemical structure changes of lignin with DES treatment, and the degradation mechanism of lignin in this acidic DES was elucidated in this work. FTIR and NMR… More >

Szczepan Bednarz^*, Angelika Wesołowska, Magdalena Trątnowiecka, Dariusz Bogdał

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 18-23, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634131

Abstract New methods of preparation of crosslinked polymers from itaconic acid as a renewable monomer have been explored. Synthesis of hydrogels and xerogels from the acid in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are described and some basic properties of the materials are reported. Most importantly, a surfactant-free method of creation of macroporous poly(itaconic-co-bisacrylamide) by phase separation polymerization in binary mixture of the DES and poly(ethylene glycol) is demonstrated. More >