Enzymatic degradation behavior of nanoclay reinforced biodegradable PLA/PBSA blend composites

Influence of Nanoclay Localization on Structure–Property Relationships of Polylactide‐Based Biodegradable Blend Nanocomposites

“…This was in accordance with XRD patterns of the clay‐based thin‐film blends, in which the characteristic peak associated with C20A disappeared, indicating a high degree of exfoliation as well as diffusion of the polymers into the C20A galleries. Further, d ‐spacing values of 3.02 and 1.85 nm were obtained upon incorporation of 2 wt% MEE and C30B clays, respectively, indicating better diffusion of polymers into the C20A and MEE galleries than the C30B structures . In addition, TEM images revealed that C20A localization mainly occurred inside the PBSA phase, as shown in Figure ; this was due to the lower viscosity of the PBSA …”

“…These results were consistent with previous studies, where addition of C20A clay to the same blend promoted crystal growth as the C20A clays were found mostly in the PBSA dispersed phase. A further study via DSC by the same authors revealed that 2 wt% C20A and MEE clay content allowed these clays to act as better nucleating agents for PLA, as they increased the PLA‐melting enthalpy from 30.9 to 34.4 and 37.3 J g −1 , respectively. On the other hand, 2 wt% C30B was found to be a better nucleating agent for PBSA as it increased the PBSA melting enthalpy from 24.6 to 31.8 J g −1 .…”

Poly(lactic acid) blends in biomedical applications

“…Malwela and Ray [64] investigated enzymatic degradation of PLA/poly(butylene succinate-coadipate) (PBST) blends in Tris-HCl buffer with Proteinase K. They report an enhanced degradation rate of the blend compared to the individual polymers due to phase separated morphology of the blend, owing to immiscibility of PLA and PBST. Annealing the PLA/PBST films at 70°C decelerates the degradation rate due to the increased crystallinity of the PBST phase and is further decreased by addition of nanoclay fillers which enhances the crystallinity of PBST.…”

A Review on Biodegradable Polymeric Materials Striving Towards the Attainment of Green Environment

“…The further improvement in barrier properties were observed with enhanced particles dispersion and exfoliation. Thomas Malwela and Suprakas Sinha Ray (2015) [11] reported the surface morphology and degradation rates of raw and nanoclays reinforced PLA/PBSA blend composites. SEM and in-situ AFM images had been observed before and after the degradation Fig.…”

“…They possess specific advantages such as low water absorption, low green-house gas emissions, low use of petroleum resources, low toxicing, useful ranges of specific strength and modulus. They also have potential ability to completely degrade in soil through the action of microorganisms (anaerobic) [10,11] or by composting (aerobic) process [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and they offer a possible alternative to traditional non-biodegradable polymers where recycling is unpractical or not economical [7].…”