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Nano Research 2024, 17(3): 1595-1606 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6050-y
Research Article | Issue | Published: 29 August 2023

Bio-inspired surface manipulation of halloysite nanotubes for high-performance flame retardant polylactic acid nanocomposites

Show Author's Information Yaru Sun1,§,  Bin Yu2,§,  Yan Liu1,3( ),  Junbo Yan1,  Zixi Xu1,  Bo Cheng4,  Fenglei Huang1,  Jun Wang3
State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center, Chongqing 401120, China
National Engineering Research Center of Flame Retardant Materials, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

§ Yaru Sun and Bin Yu contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
mechanical properties, fire safety, biomass, electromagnetic interference shielding, thermostability
Topics:
NanocompositesSelf assembly
Cite this article:
Sun Y, Yu B, Liu Y, et al. Bio-inspired surface manipulation of halloysite nanotubes for high-performance flame retardant polylactic acid nanocomposites. Nano Research, 2024, 17(3): 1595-1606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6050-y
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

High-performance flame-retardant polylactic acid (PLA) bio-composites based on biobased fillers to meet usage requirements represents a promising direction for creating a sustainable world. Although flame retardant PLA composites have been reported extensively, it still remains a huge challenge to develop mechanically robust. The flame retardant PLA composites due to plastication effect of organic flame retardants and poor compatibility of organic fillers with the matrix lead to the severe deterioration in mechanical properties. In this work, a bio-inspired surface manipulation strategy for halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was proposed via a facile and green self-assembly process. The structure and morphology of bio-inspired HNTs (b-HNTs) proved that biomass nanofillers (PA-NA-Fe) grew well both within the lumen and on the surface of HNTs. The growth of biomass on the inner and outer surfaces of HNTs was inspired from wooden towards enhancing the interface compatibility and imparting multi-properties to PLA biopolymer. Excellent mechanical properties (tensile, thermomechanical and anti-impact mechanical), great fire safety (heat release and smoke emission), thermostability and improved electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of this well-designed PLA nanocomposite were realized. The mechanisms of the enhanced performances of the PLA bio-composites by loading b-HNTs were proposed. This work presents a facile and environmentally-friendly bio-inspired modification strategy for HNTs to fabricate high-performance, multi-functional polymer composites, which is also suitable for surface modification of many other nanomaterials, including nanofibers, nanotubes, nanowires, and nanosheets.


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About this article

Bio-inspired surface manipulation of halloysite nanotubes for high-performance flame retardant polylactic acid nanocomposites

Show Author's information Yaru Sun1,§, Bin Yu2,§, Yan Liu1,3( ), Junbo Yan1, Zixi Xu1, Bo Cheng4, Fenglei Huang1, Jun Wang3
State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center, Chongqing 401120, China
National Engineering Research Center of Flame Retardant Materials, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

§ Yaru Sun and Bin Yu contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

High-performance flame-retardant polylactic acid (PLA) bio-composites based on biobased fillers to meet usage requirements represents a promising direction for creating a sustainable world. Although flame retardant PLA composites have been reported extensively, it still remains a huge challenge to develop mechanically robust. The flame retardant PLA composites due to plastication effect of organic flame retardants and poor compatibility of organic fillers with the matrix lead to the severe deterioration in mechanical properties. In this work, a bio-inspired surface manipulation strategy for halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was proposed via a facile and green self-assembly process. The structure and morphology of bio-inspired HNTs (b-HNTs) proved that biomass nanofillers (PA-NA-Fe) grew well both within the lumen and on the surface of HNTs. The growth of biomass on the inner and outer surfaces of HNTs was inspired from wooden towards enhancing the interface compatibility and imparting multi-properties to PLA biopolymer. Excellent mechanical properties (tensile, thermomechanical and anti-impact mechanical), great fire safety (heat release and smoke emission), thermostability and improved electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of this well-designed PLA nanocomposite were realized. The mechanisms of the enhanced performances of the PLA bio-composites by loading b-HNTs were proposed. This work presents a facile and environmentally-friendly bio-inspired modification strategy for HNTs to fabricate high-performance, multi-functional polymer composites, which is also suitable for surface modification of many other nanomaterials, including nanofibers, nanotubes, nanowires, and nanosheets.

Keywords: mechanical properties, fire safety, biomass, electromagnetic interference shielding, thermostability

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 25 June 2023
Revised: 22 July 2023
Accepted: 28 July 2023
Published: 29 August 2023
Issue date: March 2024

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2023

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12102050 and 12202063).

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