Environmentally Friendly Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)/Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Materials with High-Performance by a Facile Fabrication Strategy

We have developed novel and environmentally friendly composite materials, consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), for the first time, by dissolving PVA and PMMA in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP), followed by subsequent layout of PVA/PMMA/HFIP liquid films and removal of the HFIP. PMMA in the PVA/PMMA materials can remarkedly improve the mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break) and the thermostabilities of the materials. Due to the hybridization of PVA with PMMA, the tensile strength and elongation at break can be improved as much as about 50% and 112%, respectively, compared with neat PVA material, whereas neat PMMA is brittle. Moreover, the materials are biodegradable and biocompatible. At the same time we have conducted systematic investigations to explore the influences of the PVA/PMMA mass ratio on the morphology, crystallinity, chemical structure, thermostability, mechanical properties, biodegradability, biocompatibility and the interactions between PVA and PMMA. The high-performance properties possessed by these materials will further broaden their practical application.