A strong and biodegradable wood particles-based bioplastic modified by synergistically dynamic cross-linking with tannic acid and Fe3+

Abstract

The widespread use of petrochemical plastics has caused surging environmental problems and health hazard. Fabrication of biodegradable, eco-friendly and high-performance bioplastic with a facile and efficient way to replace petrochemical materials remains an enormous challenge. As low-cost and abundant sustainable materials, wood particles have the advantages of good processing performance and have been widely studied recently. Herein, a new high-performance sustainable bioplastic was constructed with delignified wood particles (DWP) matrix and enhanced by tannic acid (TA) crosslinked Fe3+ through hot-pressing process. The synergy of dynamic hydrogen bonds and coordination bonds endowed the resultant DWP-based bioplastic with a high tensile strength of 57.5 ± 3.17 MPa that surpassed those of most bioplastics and satisfactory water resistance. Moreover, the resulting film remained more than 94% mechanical properties after staying in harsh conditions for a long time, displaying excellent stability. Furthermore, the DWP/TA/Fe3+ film also demonstrated unique transparency (an average transmittance of 46.74%), decent antioxidant capacity and outstanding biodegradability. In addition, a laminated composite from the DWP-based films and PVA adhesive showed an excellent tensile strength of 70.42 ± 4.52 MPa, higher than some natural woods, which was helpful to expand the industrial application of DWP-based bioplastic. This approach provides a promising pathway for developing strong and sustainable bioplastics with low-cost and abundant biomass sources, and help the development of high-performance bioplastics in the field of disposable tableware, green films and packing materials.