Thermoplastic and biodegradable sugarcane lignin-based biocomposites prepared via a wholly solvent-free method

It is still a huge challenge to obtain thermoplastic lignin-based biocomposites with reasonable thermoplasticity so long as the lignin ratio surpasses 50 wt% due to their theoretically higher thermoplasticization activation energies in comparison with the corresponding decomposition energies. Herein, we report a completely solvent-free method to prepare a series of sugarcane lignin-based biocomposites with exceptional thermoplasticity, reasonable mechanical property, acceptable hydrophobicity, and considerable biodegradability even though the lignin content exceeds 60 wt%. Thermoplasticization mechanism of related biocomposites was extensively studied. The prepared lignin-based biocomposites show the optimal tensile strength, Shore hardness, shape stability after soaking in water, thermoplasticization temperature, and on-set thermal decomposition temperature of about 14 MPa, 75 D, 99%, 110 °C, and 245 °C, respectively. The developed sugarcane lignin-based biocomposites show large potential applications in replacing some unsustainable and undegradable products for daily use such as polyethylene-based containers, packaging materials, decoration materials, and even furniture.