Development and Characterization of PBS/EA Cellulose and PCL/EA Cellulose Biocomposites: Structural, Morphological, and Thermal Insights for Sustainable Applications
Open accessPreprint — published as 10.3390/polym17070971
Abstract
This study investigates the development and characterization of PBS/EA cellulose and PCL/EA cellulose biocomposites in order to understand their structural, morphological, and thermal properties for sustainable applications. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to analyze these properties. FTIR analysis of PBS/EA cellulose composites showed increased hydroxyl peak intensities, suggesting possible interactions, whereas PCL/EA cellulose composites exhibited no significant interactions. XRD results revealed improved crystallinity in both composites with increased EA cellulose content. SEM images indicated enhanced surface morphology and good interaction in PBS/EA cellulose composites while PCL/EA cellulose composites showed a sea-island morphology, implying poor compatibility. DSC analysis showed that EA cellulose lowered the melting temperature of PBS, while minimal effects were observed in PCL composites. TGA results demonstrated improved thermal stability at lower EA cellulose contents in both PBS and PCL composites. These findings provide valuable insights into the potential of PBS/EA cellulose and PCL/EA cellulose biocomposites as biocompatible and sustainable materials, especially for applications in biomedical and environmentally friendly packaging sectors.
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PCL is semi-crystalline with a reported degree of crystallinity of ca. 40%, a melting temperature of 58-64 °C, and a glass transition temperature of −65 to −60 °C.
“PCL is semi-crystalline, with spherulites consisting of lamellae oriented in parallel and separated by amorphous regions with a reported degree of crystallinity of ca. 40%, a melting temperature in the range of 58–64 °C, and a glass transition temperature in the range of −65 to −60 °C (see Table 1) [35,46,47]”
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Ngwenya, M., Gumede, T. P., Pérez Camargo, R. A., & Motloung, B. (2025) · Materials · doi:10.3390/ma18225172 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Self-citationKumalo, F. I., Mugudamani, I., Atangana, E., & Gumede, T. P. (2025) · Materials · doi:10.3390/ma18215028 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationBibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment
Dambuza, A., Mokolokolo, P. P., Makhatha, M. E., et al. (2026) · Polymers · doi:10.3390/polym18080953 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ngwenya, M., Gumede, T. P., & Motloung, B. (2026) · Polymers · doi:10.3390/polym18091132 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationHe, X., Lan, W., Lv, Y., et al. (2026) · Chemosensors · doi:10.3390/chemosensors14020031
Kumalo, F. I., Malimabe, M. A., Mosoabisane, M. F. T., et al. (2026) · Materials · doi:10.3390/ma19051018
Self-citationNuilek, K., Somdee, P., Homjabok, W., et al. (2026) · Journal of Composites Science · doi:10.3390/jcs10080389
- Authors
- Kumalo, F. I., Malimabe, M. A., Mosoabisane, M. F. T., & Gumede, T. P.
- Affiliations
- Central University of Technology (ZA)
- University of the Free State (ZA)
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (South Africa) (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Gumede, Thandi Patricia
- ORCID
- Venue
- Polymers
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2025-02-24
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 971-971
- ISSN
- 2073-4360 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11991164
- OpenAlex
- W4409096445
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 2
- FWCI
- 3.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Polymers (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Preprints.org (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Sasol
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Polymer crystallization and properties
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites
- Keywords
- poly(butylene succinate), polycaprolactone, nucleation, crystallization behavior, crystallinity, heat of fusion, melting point, ether linkage, lamellar thickness, biodegradable polymers, sustainable materials
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