Sustainable Bioplastics

Biography

Biography: Nathalie Steunou

Abstract

Biopolymer-based materials have received increasing attention for potential applications in energy, medicine, and environment domains. The main advantage of using macromolecules of natural origin is related to their chemical complexity and self-assembly properties, for which no synthetic equivalent is usually available, together with their large abundance and non-fossil origin, two key aspects for the synthesis of “green” materials. The development of bioelastomers usually requires their reinforcement by appropriate fillers that enhance the mechanical properties and impart new physico-chemical properties (catalytic, optical, magnetic, gas separation…). In this presentation, we will focus on functional nanocomposites prepared by assembling (bio)polymers with different types of inorganic fillers including metal oxides, polyoxometalates and metal organic frameworks. First, by combining gelatin with a large range of polyoxometalates of different charge density, bioelastomers with tunable mechanical properties were prepared by a complex coacervation process. Due to cost-effectiveness, ease of preparation and biocompatibility, these nanocomposites may present great potential as modified electrodes for detection as well as drug carriers or scaffolds for tissue engineering. More recently, our interest was also devoted on composite membranes prepared by combining porous metal polycarboxylate based MOFs and (bio)polymers for gas separation application. An approach integrating advanced characterization tools was developed at the colloidal level to characterize the microstructural and physico-chemical properties of these materials. Indeed, one critical issue of this family of materials concerns the chemical and thermodynamic compatibility between polymers and inorganic particles that drive both the polymer microstructure (degree of crystallinity, cross-link/entanglement density, confinement effect…) and the dispersion of nanofillers.