Compression molding and melt‐spinning of the blends of poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate)

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biobased polymer made from biomass having high mechanical properties for engineering materials applications. However, PLA has certain limited properties such as its brittleness and low heat distortion temperature. Thus, the aim of this study is to improve toughness of PLA by blending with poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA), the biodegradable polymer having high toughness. Polymer blends of PLA and PBSA were prepared using a twin screw extruder. The melt rheology and the thermal property of the blends were examined. Further the blends were fabricated into compression molded parts and melt-spun fiber and were subjected to tensile and impact tests. When the PBSA content was low, PBSA phase was finely dispersed in the PLA matrix. On the other hand, when the PBSA content was high, this minor phase dispersed as a large droplet. Mechanical properties of the compression molded parts were affected by the dispersion state of PBSA minor component in PLA matrix. Impact strength of the compression molded parts was also improved by the addition of soft PBSA. The improvement was pronounced when the PBSA phase was finely dispersed in PLA matrix. However, the mechanical property of the blend fibers was affected by the postdrawing condition as well as the PBSA content.

Effect of miscibility on mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/ polycaprolactone blends

“…Most of these polymers offer attractive degradation rates in controlled environments, thus avoiding permanent environmental impact. On the other hand, their thermoplastic nature enables easy processing by conventional processes such as melt spinning, injection moulding, extrusion, etc., or other advanced manufacturing processes such as electrospinning, three‐dimensional printing, etc.…”

Effect of organically modified layered double hydroxides on the properties of poly(lactic acid)/poly[(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] immiscible blends

“…This result is expected as the binary blend is made up of polymers that have high interfacial tension and the repulsion force among the polymers causes each component to remain distinct from the other. However, some interfacial interaction at the interphase of PLA and PBSA has been reported . Among the nanocomposite samples, a significant reduction of the PBSA domain size in containing 0.5 wt% SaLDH is observed as can be seen in Figure (c).…”

“…Blending with one or more other polymers serves as one of the effective and relatively cheaper routes to improve the properties of PLA . However, previous studies showed that blending PLA with more ductile biopolymers such as poly [(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] (PBSA) often forms immiscible mixtures due to unfavorable thermodynamics of mixing resulting from solubility parameters, processing temperature, and different blend compositions. The role of additional additives to improve the interfacial interaction of the polymers becomes crucial in such cases.…”

Improved Thermal Processing of Polylactic Acid/Oxidized Starch Composites and Flame-Retardant Behavior of Intumescent Non-Wovens

“…Such shortcomings can be remedied by the oxidation of starch by using oxidizing agents [10]. Starch oxidation results in de-polymerization by the hydrolysis of glucose units hence oxidized starches present low viscosities at higher concentrations: a property desired for thermoplastic processing of starch [11]. Many oxidizing agents for starch oxidation have been used in the past such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide and ammonium persulfate.…”