Fire retardant, UV and blue light double-blocking super clear Carboxymethylated cellulose bioplastics enabled by metal organic framework

Abstract It is still a challenge to realize super clear cellulose-based film materials with different functional combinations. This study presents a novel concept of fabricating flame-retardant, mechanically strong, UV and blue light double-blocking carboxymethylated cellulose-based nanocomposite bioplastics enabled by nano-metal organic framework (MIL-125(Ti)-NH2). Carboxymethylated cellulose gel with porous structure acts as nanoreactor and carboxyl groups as reactive sites to facilitate the growth and anchorage of nano-MIL-125(Ti)-NH2. Super clear bioplastics were obtained through hot-pressing. The results show that the neat carboxymethylated cellulose bioplastic possesses high transmittance (94.1% at 600 nm) and low haze (2.0% at 600 nm). The incorporation of nano-MIL-125(Ti)-NH2 enabled nanocomposite bioplastics to obtain UV and blue light double-shielding capability meanwhile retaining high transmittance (79–92.8%) and low haze (2.6–7.2%). Moreover, the incorporation of nano-MIL-125(Ti)-NH2 was found to significantly improve the mechanical strength and decrease the flammability of nanocomposite bioplastics. This facile strategy would direct nanocomposite bioplastics toward diversified applications.