(488c) Nanocomposites from Modified Lignin

Lignin comprises 25~30% of biomass, which is the second largest among all the materials extracted from wood. However, due to some limitations, such as amorphous formation, structure variation and low solubility both in water and organic solvents, most lignin are burnt for heat.  To use lignin as high-valued chemicals and materials, lignin needs to be modified.  In this research, lignin modification using chemical such as butyric anhydride and 2-Bromoisobutyryl bromide to change its solubility in different organic monomers were conducted. Modified lignin is able to dissolve in styrene and methyl methacrylate monomer and therefore, can participate in the polymerization of polymers. The mechanism of this reaction is the reaction between the –OH group in lignin and anhydride in butyric anhydride or bromide in 2-Bromoisobutyryl bromide. More works can be done based on the water-soluble lignin. In this research, 1HNMR and FTIR are used as characterization methods to justify the change of lignin structure. 31PNMR is used to determine content of –OH group. What’s more, Zetasizer is used to measure the particle size of PMMA using modified lignin as additive and SEM is used to observe its morphology. Results obtained from this research can be used to develop more expanded area of lignin application.