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Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer
Published on: November 30, 2020
Baroplastic Effect of Aliphatic Polyester Block Copolymers for Degradation-Free Multicycle Processing of
Neha Sharma1,2, Tsuyoshi Koga3,2, Shigeru Deguchi2
1Faculty of Fiber Science and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
Abstract:
Advancing sustainable plastics is crucial to achieving a circular plastic economy. Baroplastics, block copolymers exhibiting order-disorder transitions under pressure, allow polymer processing at ambient temperatures, reducing energy use and avoiding thermal degradation. Their application, however, has been limited by structural constraints. This study introduces poly(ε-caproclactone-random-5-ethyleneketal ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(l-lactide) (PmCL-b-PLLA) as a "baroplasticizer" for nonbaroplastic PLLA. Blending with the block polymers lowered PLLA's flow temperature by up to 100 °C (160 to 60 °C at 50 MPa) while preserving molecular weight after repeated pressure cycles, ensuring recyclability. The improved formability would arise from a pressure-induced ordered (solid)-to-disordered (melt/solid) phase transition. This work eliminates structural constraints in baroplastics, enabling broader low-temperature processing applications and advancing sustainable polymer technologies.
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