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Vapor Barrier Membranes Based on Polylactic acid and Cellulose Microfibers for the Building Envelope Application

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Abstract

This study aims to develop fully bio-based barrier membranes from polylactic acid (PLA) and cellulose microfibers (CMF) to control the transmission of water vapor through the building envelope. To improve the dispersibility of CMF in the PLA matrix, lactic acid (LA) monomer or oligomer was grafted onto the surface of CMF by a simple esterification reaction. Based on the morphological analysis, the LA-modified CMF (CMF-LA) showed excellent dispersion in the PLA matrix due to the improved interfacial adhesion between modified fibers and PLA. The results of thermal analyses indicated that the glass transmission temperature and thermal decomposition temperatures of materials enhanced after the addition of bio-fillers. According to the tensile test results, the PLA-based composites incorporated with the different content of CMF-LA (1–20 wt%) and dicumyl peroxide (PLALCD composites) showed higher values of tensile strength and Young’s modulus compared to the neat PLA. Moreover, the PLALCD composites displayed superior vapor barrier properties than the PLA/untreated CMF composites, and there was no significant decrement in the barrier performance of PLALCD composites when the CMF-LA content was up to 15 wt%. Additionally, the environmental impact of the prepared composite was studied by the life cycle assessment tool and results demonstrated that the incorporation of cellulose fibers into PLA reduced the global warming potential of materials. The obtained results suggest that the modification of CMF with LA can be considered a simple, cost-effective, and sustainable method to fabricate a PLA-based membrane for the building envelope application.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada for the financial support through its IRC and CRD programs (IRCPJ 461745-18 and RDCPJ 524504-18) as well as the industrial partner, Kruger Inc., of the NSERC industrial chair on eco-responsible wood construction (CIRCERB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wood and Forest Sciences, Laval University, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Masoud Dadras Chomachayi, Pierre Blanchet & Simon Pepin

  2. Department of Materials Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Atif Hussain

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  1. Masoud Dadras Chomachayi
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  3. Atif Hussain
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Contributions

Conceptualization, MDC, PB, and AH; methodology, MDC and PB; formal analysis, MDC.; investigation, MDC.; resources, PB; writing-original draft preparation, MDC; writing-review and editing, MDC, PB, AH, SP; visualization, MDC; supervision, PB; project administration, PB; funding acquisition, PB All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Masoud Dadras Chomachayi.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

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Dadras Chomachayi, M., Blanchet, P., Hussain, A. et al. Vapor Barrier Membranes Based on Polylactic acid and Cellulose Microfibers for the Building Envelope Application. J Polym Environ 31, 5309–5325 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-023-02946-3

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