{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,14]],"date-time":"2026-03-14T06:12:39Z","timestamp":1773468759075,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773273600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["NRF-2021R1A2C2007339"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2021R1A2C2007339"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Hanwha Solutions Chemical Division"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) offer sustainable alternatives to petroleum-derived nanofillers, yet their industrial application remains limited by poor dispersion control and trade-offs between loading, optical clarity, and mechanical performance. Here, we present a molecular architecture-driven design framework that systematically decouples polymer network physics from nanoparticle dispersion in poly(vinyl alcohol)\/LNP nanocomposites. Through eco-friendly self-precipitation, we synthesize uniform LNPs with size tunability, overcoming persistent reproducibility challenges. Systematic investigation across PVA molecular weights and LNP loadings reveals entanglement-controlled dispersion behavior. Combined rheological and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses demonstrate that macroscopic suspension rheology is governed exclusively by polymer chain overlap, remaining invariant across LNP loadings. Conversely, the nanoscale LNP microstructural organization\u2014ranging from depletion-driven clustering in weakly entangled networks to network-confinement stabilization in densely entangled systems\u2014fundamentally dictates the film\u2019s optical clarity and mechanical toughness. This rheology-microstructure decoupling establishes critical processing windows for industrial formulations, where polymer entanglement ensures suspension processability while the LNP dispersion state enables optical\u2013mechanical tunability. The entangled network\u2019s structure-filtering effect provides robust protocols for fabricating sustainable, transparent bio-composites suitable for packaging, optics, and functional films. Our quantitative composition\u2013structure\u2013performance framework advances fundamental understanding of entanglement-mediated interfacial phenomena while delivering practical design rules for next-generation sustainable bio-composites.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18060691","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T14:46:31Z","timestamp":1773326791000},"page":"691","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Entanglement-Mediated Dispersion of Lignin Nanoparticles in PVA Networks for Transparent and Tough Bio-Composites"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"In Jun","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Hanwha Solutions Chemical Division, Research and Development Center, Daejeon 34128, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"So Youn","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1416","DOI":"10.1039\/C5GC01436K","article-title":"A simple process for lignin nanoparticle preparation","volume":"18","author":"Lievonen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Green Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"647","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2021.10.094","article-title":"Antisolvent versus ultrasonication: Bottom-up and top-down approaches to produce lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) with tailored properties","volume":"193","author":"Camargos","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. 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