{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T14:58:11Z","timestamp":1785337091637,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009967","name":"XPCC Guiding Science and Technology Program Project","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2024ZD102"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024ZD102"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009967","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009967","name":"XPCC Graduate Research Innovation Project","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BTYJSXM-2025-SC06"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BTYJSXM-2025-SC06"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009967","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer suitable for selective laser sintering, yet the atomic-level sintering mechanisms of plant-fiber-reinforced PLA remain largely unclear. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the sintering behavior and interfacial interactions of cotton stalk cellulose\/PLA nanocomposites with cellulose contents of 0\u201320 wt%. The nanoparticle coalescence proceeds through three sequential stages: initial van der Waals-driven contact, thermally activated neck formation, and isothermal interfacial densification. Cellulose content exerts a non-monotonic effect on interfacial bonding. At 15 wt% cellulose, an optimal, continuous hydrogen-bond network forms between cellulose hydroxyls and PLA carbonyls, maximizing interfacial adhesion while simultaneously suppressing unfavorable dipole stacking among PLA chains. At this critical loading, cellulose acts as a rigid scaffold that directs PLA chain extension and directional migration across the sintering neck, as evidenced by atomic displacement and radius-of-gyration analyses. In contrast, excess cellulose (20 wt%) induces self-aggregation, which disrupts interfacial continuity and hinders long-range chain diffusion. These results identify 15 wt% as the optimal cellulose content for achieving enhanced interfacial bonding and chain mobility, providing atomistic criteria for the formulation design of cellulose\/PLA composite powders for selective laser sintering processing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18151859","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T13:53:31Z","timestamp":1785333211000},"page":"1859","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Interfacial Interaction and Sintering Mechanism of Cellulose\/Polylactic Acid Composites in Selective Laser Sintering: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4930-6222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yibing","family":"Tian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Modern Agricultural Engineering Key Laboratory at Universities of Education Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Utilization and Equipment of Special Agricultural and Forestry Products in Southern Xinjiang, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xirui","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Modern Agricultural Engineering Key Laboratory at Universities of Education Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Utilization and Equipment of Special Agricultural and Forestry Products in Southern Xinjiang, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0945-0863","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haoyu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Runan","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Modern Agricultural Engineering Key Laboratory at Universities of Education Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Utilization and Equipment of Special Agricultural and Forestry Products in Southern Xinjiang, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Modern Agricultural Engineering Key Laboratory at Universities of Education Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Alar 843300, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Utilization and Equipment of Special Agricultural and Forestry Products in Southern Xinjiang, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1932-000X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yanling","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138243","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molstruc.2024.138243","article-title":"Polylactic acid (PLA): Properties, synthesis, and biomedical applications\u2014A review of the literature","volume":"1309","author":"Khouri","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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