Graphene Oxide-Driven Design of Strong and Flexible Biopolymer Barrier Films: From Smart Crystallization Control to Affordable Engineering

Development of multifunctional, versatile biobased polymers can greatly benefit from the discovery and application of 2D sheet-like materials. For instance, the hybrid system integrating graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with enantiomeric poly(lactic acid) (PLA) showcases several key properties that can address emerging multifunction needs such as good gas barrier and high thermal resistance. Here we revealed that large specific surface area and homogeneous dispersion of GO conferred the construction of interconnected networks in PLA even with relatively low GO contents (0.1 and 0.5 wt %). These well-extended GO nanosheets were ready to provide enormous and active platforms to nucleate preferentially the neighboring stereocomplex chains, prompting the prevailing development of stereocomplex crystals (SCs). The notable scenario associated with the GO distribution was imaged by 2D Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and was further elucidated by dynamic crystallization. More importantly, the nanosheets de...