Surface-grafted cellulose particles with poly(butylene succinate) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) for sustainable composites

Abstract

The growing need to reduce plastic waste has prompted the development of bio-based and biodegradable materials. Cellulose is attracting increasing attention as a sustainable filler candidate due to its renewability, abundance, and favorable mechanical properties. Its application in polylactic acid (PLA)-based composites has been extensively studied and has demonstrated improvements in mechanical strength, barrier properties, and processability. However, the use of nanocellulose in other biodegradable polymers such as poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) remains limited, despite their industrial significance. In this study, we developed matrix-adapted cellulose nanoparticles by grafting PBS or PBAT onto cellulose regenerated from aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. Grafting was carried out via melt polycondensation, resulting in nano-sized particles with average sizes of approximately 100 nm for PBS and 175 nm for PBAT. These surface-modified particles exhibited improved thermal stability and high polymer content, reaching 25 wt% for PBS and 50 wt% for PBAT, indicating successful grafting, which is expected to facilitate compatibility with the target biodegradable matrices. This work provides a new approach for the rational design of biodegradable nanocomposites beyond PLA and contributes to the development of sustainable high-performance materials.