Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Fabricating Reactive Surfaces with Brush-like and Crosslinked Films of Azlactone-Functionalized Block Co-Polymers
Published on: June 30, 2018
A new strategy for the preparation of polylactic acid composites with UV resistance, light conversion, and
Chengkai Liu1, Dongmei Wang2, Yanbo Li3
1Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China; College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266510, China.
Abstract:
A novel rare earth complex, Eu(IAA)2(phen)2 (EuIP), was synthesized by solution-based synthesis method. Then, EuIP and polylactic acid (PLA) were melt-blended at 190 °C to obtain a multifunctional PLA/EuIP composite. The incorporation of EuIP provided PLA/EuIP composites with good light conversion ability. Under UV irradiation, PLA/EuIP composites converted the absorbed UV light into red light. Moreover, the PLA/1.0EuIP composite exhibited excellent light transmittance of 88 % in the visible region and showed strong red emission under UV light. After UV irradiation for 96 h, the molecular weights and mechanical properties of neat PLA decreased dramatically. Interestingly, the molecular weights and mechanical properties of PLA/EuIP composites did not deteriorate after 96 h of UV irradiation. The reason was that EuIP could absorb UV light and utilize the absorbed energy to emit red fluorescence. Furthermore, PLA/EuIP composites showed good antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus. In addition, in vitro cell experiments showed that PLA/EuIP composites was suitable for the growth of murine breast cancer (4 T1) cells. Besides, enzymatic degradation testing also proved that PLA/EuIP composites had good biodegradability. This work provides an ingenious design strategy for the preparation of PLA/EuIP composites possessing light conversion ability, UV resistance, and antibacterial properties.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Corrosion
Microbes in Food Production
Production of Organic Acids
Production of Antibiotics
Production of Pharmaceuticals
Bioplastics

