Construction of a new green vitrimer material: introducing dynamic covalent bond into carboxymethyl cellulose

The synthesis of the first cellulose-based vitrimer is described. Dynamic ester bonds were responsible for the dynamic properties of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-based vitrimer. The addition of suitable catalyst and glycerol in the vitrimer formulations was crucial for the reprocessability of these materials. Thermogravimetric and dynamic mechanical analyses tensile strength tests were performed to investigate the effect of the catalyst and glycerol on the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the materials. A minimum amount of 5 mol% of 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene with respect to the carboxyl group content was required to maintain reprocessability by hot press. The CMC vitrimer exhibited good reprocessability and shape memory ability. Our work demonstrates that cellulose, the most abundant bio-resource on the planet, can be a promising raw material for bio-based vitrimer due to its excellent renewability and low cost.