From studying fruit skins to developing new elastomeric materials...

From studying fruit skins to developing new elastomeric materials...

Inspired by the natural polymer of the plant cuticle, we produced hydrophobic elastomers from synthons extracted from agro-industrial waste. A biorefinery process and a tailor-made synthesis of these co-polyesters allows us to vary their mechanical properties as well as their barrier properties.

All plants are covered by a cuticle that provides crucial biological functions for the plant (e.g., resistance to dehydration, adaptation to climatic and biological stresses). This cuticle is also a source of original substances that are currently undervalued, and so we developed a biorefinery process to exploit those substances.
Glycerol is another agro-industrial co-product from the oil and biodiesel process. The study of the fine structure of cutin polyester in crack-resistant plant cuticles led us to mimic this polyester using a solvent-free and catalyst-free polycondensation process.

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Modification date : 11 September 2023 | Publication date : 26 December 2022 | Redactor : MW