18 Mar 2022 --- University of Birmingham, UK, and Duke University, US, researchers have discovered “exceptional” strength and toughness in novel polymers made from sugars, which have the potential for food-grade application. The study is published in Angew Chemie. Duke University professor Dr. Matthew Becker tells PackagingInsights: “While it is early in the evolutionary lifetime of these materials, the properties of the polymers are unique.”The study examined two polymers based on isosorbide and isomannide produced by a recently disclosed method that uses sugars as a starting point for synthesis. Both polymers have superior properties to conventional thermoplastic elastomers, and in addition, are degradable and mechanically recyclable. In a key finding, the researchers discovered that the polymer made from isosorbide displayed superior elastic recovery and toughness, which was shown to be a result of the stereochemistry of the sugar groups in the materials.
