Abstract. Improving overall properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) by blending it with another biobased polymer has been a strong field of research over the last years. In this study we demonstrate the synergetic effect of a small amount (between 0.1 and 1 wt%) of oligomer-like PLA (oLA) on the thermal, mechanical and gas barrier properties of the widely studied PLA-poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blends (90-10 wt%). Films of PLA/PHBV/oLA blends were prepared via single-screw extrusion. oLA being miscible with both PLA and PHBV, its compatibilizing effect was demonstrated by a decrease of the interfacial tension, a slight shift in the T g s of both polymers, and an increase in the elongation at break. It was also showed that oLA had a plasticizing effect on the PHBV dispersed phase, increasing its crystallinity rate. This resulted in a decrease in the permeability of the films while improving Young's modulus.

In the present work, linear polystyrene (PS) was functionalized by a sulfonation reaction providing sulfonated polystyrene (PSS). Then, the PSS polymer chains were cross-linked with the 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate (PPDI) group in tetrahydrofuran (THF), which led to a PSS-PPDI polymer. The PSS-PPDI was grafted by diethylenetriamine (DETA) in a solution of THF to obtain polymer PSS-PPDI-DETA. Their structures were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), elemental analysis (EA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravemetric (TGA), thermodynamic (DTA) and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis. Subsequently, the obtained polymers were tested for their ability to remove some metal ions from aqueous media such as Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ and Co 2+ .

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