A novel bio-based thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) material consisting of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and a novel polymeric slide ring material (SeRM) was fabricated via isocyanate-induced dynamic vulcanization. The microscopic morphology, thermal properties, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties of the SeRM/PLA TPV material were comprehensively investigated, in turn by transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, in vitro cytotoxicity test, electron tension machine, and molecular dynamics simulations. Phase inversion in TPV was observed during the dynamic vulcanization, and TEM images showed that SeRM particles that were dispersed in PLA continuous phase had an average diameter of 1-4 μm. Results also indicated that an optimum phase inversion morphology was obtained at the SeRM/PLA blending ratio of 70/30 w/w. Glass transition temperature of PLA was found to be slightly decreased, owing to the improvement in interface compatibility by chemically bonding the PCL side chains (of SeRM molecules) and PLA chains. The tensile strength and elongation at break of TPVs were approximately 14.7 MPa and 164%, respectively, at SeRM/PLA blending ratio of 70/30, owing to the unique sliding effect of SeRM molecules when subjected to deformations. Cytotoxicity test results proved that the bio-based TPVs were fully non-toxic to L929 cells. In such aspects we believe that the bio-based TPV can be a promising material in the biomedical applications as an alternative of traditional commodity plastics.

A series of sustainable and reprocessible thermoplastic polyester elastomers P(BF-PBSS)s were synthesized using dimethyl-2,5-furandicarboxylate, 1,4-butanediol, and synthetic low-molecular-weight biobased polyester (PBSS). The P(BF-PBSS)s contain poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) as their hard segment and PBSS as their soft segment. The microstructures of the P(BF-PBSS)s were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance, demonstrating that a higher content of the soft segment was incorporated into P(BF-PBSS)s with higher PBSS content. Interestingly, dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that P(BF-PBSS)s comprised two domains: crystalline PBF and a mixture of amorphous PBF and PBSS. Consequently, the microphase separations of P(BF-PBSS)s were mainly induced by the crystallization of their PBF segments. More importantly, the thermal, crystallization, and mechanical properties could be tailored by tuning the PBSS content. Our results indicate that the as-prepared P(BF-PBSS)s are renewable, thermally stable, and nontoxic, and have good tensile properties, indicating that they could be potentially applied in biomedical materials.