Correlations between genotype biochemical characteristics and mechanical properties of maize stem - polyethylene composites

Loan T.T. Vo (1) , Jordi Girones (1) , Marie-Pierre Jacquemot (2) , Frédéric F. Legée (2) , Laurent L. Cezard (2) , Catherine Lapierre (2) , Fadi El Hage (3, 2) , Valérie Méchin (2) , Matthieu Reymond (2) , Patrick Navard (1)

1 CEMEF - Centre de Mise en Forme des Matériaux
2 IJPB - Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin
3 Université Paris-Saclay

This study was devoted to identifying specific biochemical traits that may be addressed in maize breeding programs for improving lignocellulosic composition for biomass utilization in the composites. To this aim, six maize contrasted genotypes were cultivated, harvested and compared in term of their capability to reinforce a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) matrix. Stem biochemical composition and histological pattern of a given internode were evaluated to determine the traits that impacted the mechanical properties of the maize-LDPE composites. Across genotypes, maize stems with higher concentrations of total cell wall residue, lignin, p-coumaric acids and cellulose in conjunction with lower concentrations of ferulic acids and hemicellulose yielded better composite performances. This strong influence of hydroxycinnamic acids is a new finding. Cellulose is found to be the component dominating the mechanical properties of the fragments since the effects of cell wall residue and cellulose are following the same pattern towards composite properties. Contrary to expectations, the correlations between the histological structure of stems and the mechanical properties of the composites prepared with stem fragments is complex and cannot be interpreted in a simple manner. The two most contrasted genotypes in terms of mechanical performances (Cm484 and F2bm3) have the most contrasted biochemical and histological parameters.

Mots clés: Maize; Genetic diversity; Polymer composites; Processing; Mechanical properties

Domaines: Matériaux; Chimie

Loan T.T. Vo, Jordi Girones, Marie-Pierre Jacquemot, Frédéric F. Legée, Laurent L. Cezard, et al.. Correlations between genotype biochemical characteristics and mechanical properties of maize stem - polyethylene composites. Industrial Crops and Products, 2020, 143, pp.111925. ⟨10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111925⟩. ⟨hal-02424196⟩