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Thermoplastic polyurethane/graphene nanosheets composites with reduced microplastics release and enhanced mechanical properties
Summary
Researchers incorporated graphene nanosheets into thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to create a composite material that releases significantly fewer microplastic particles during use. The graphene acts as a barrier, reducing microplastic shedding at the source while also improving mechanical strength.
Abstract Microplastics are of increasing environmental concern as emerging contaminants worldwide. However, very limited studies are focused on the treatment of microplastics based on material design. Here, we propose a cut‐from‐the‐source strategy through incorporating graphene nanosheets (GNs) into thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to prepare high performance composites via melt‐processing. The effects and mechanism of GNs on microplastics release of TPU are first investigated. Benefiting from the barrier effect of GNs and the strong interfacial interaction, microplastics release of the obtained composites is effectively inhibited during oxidative degradation and the mechanical properties are simultaneously enhanced. This work provides a novel strategy for the source reduction of microplastics, inspiring the microplastics governance in the future.