Lignin-Reinforced Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Copolymer Elastomer via Hydrogen Bonding Interactions

It is still a great challenge to prepare lignin/polyolefin composites with good strength and toughness. Inspired by the energy sacrificial mechanism from biomaterials, dynamic hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) are incorporated into the lignin/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) composite system to improve the interfacial interactions between lignin and EPDM. Such H-bonding interactions are demonstrated to be able to simultaneously improve the modulus, strength, and toughness of lignin/EPDM composites without sacrificing the extensibility. This work provides a facile method for the high-valued utilization of lignin in the preparation of high-performance elastomer composites using bio-renewable resources as reinforcing agent.