Fabrication and Characterization of Lignin/Dendrimer Electrospun Blended Fiber Mats.

Somaye Akbari,Frank Ko,Addie Bahi,Ali Farahani,Abbas S. Milani

doi:10.3390/molecules26030518

Abstract

Blending lignin as the second most abundant polymer in Nature with nanostructured compounds such as dendritic polymers can not only add value to lignin, but also increase its application in various fields. In this study, softwood Kraft lignin/polyamidoamine dendritic polymer (PAMAM) blends were fabricated by the solution electrospinning to produce bead-free nanofiber mats for the first time. The mats were characterized through scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, zeta potential, and thermogravimetry analyses. The chemical intermolecular interactions between the lignin functional groups and abundant amino groups in the PAMAM were verified by FTIR and viscosity measurements. These interactions proved to enhance the mechanical and thermal characteristics of the lignin/PAMAM mats, suggesting their potential applications e.g. in membranes, filtration, controlled release drug delivery, among others.

Highlights

Lignin is one of the complex natural polymers that mostly exists in the by-products of plants, woods, pulp, and paper [1,2]
The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the feasibility of electrospinning and characterization of a novel blend of PAMAM dendritic structure with softwood Kraft lignin reactions can yield higher molecular weights in heat-setting process
The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the feasibility of electrospinning and characterization of a novel blend of PAMAM dendritic structure with softwood Kraft lignin (SKL)

Summary

Introduction

Lignin is one of the complex natural polymers that mostly exists in the by-products of plants, woods, pulp, and paper [1,2]. Besides various structures and types of lignin, it can reveal some special characteristics, such as antioxidant, antiseptic, bactericide, bacteriostatic, microbial resistance, transportation of material to plant’s tissue and disinfectant agent; whilst it is non-cytotoxic to human cells [12,13]. These characteristics have increased the production and demand for lignin-based products in industries over years. Impurities, unwanted depolymerization reaction and degradation upon heating are among the known challenges that need to be dealt with and optimized during development/processing lignin-based products [1,17]

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Conclusion