Ethylene‐methyl acrylate‐glycidyl methacrylate toughened poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites

Abstract

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was melt blended in a twin screw extruder using an ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate rubber as a toughener. PLA/rubber blends were immiscible as observed by scanning electron microscopy. Impact strength and ductility of PLA were improved by the addition of the rubber at the expense of strength and stiffness. An organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) was used at 2 wt % to counteract the negative effect of the rubber on modulus, and balanced properties were observed at 10 wt % rubber content. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of intercalated/exfoliated structure in the ternary nanocomposites. Thermal behavior analysis indicated that the degree of crystallinity is slightly affected by the clay and the rubber. Both the clay and the rubber decreased the crystallization temperature of PLA and acted as nucleating agents for PLA. The viscosity of the mixtures as measured by melt flow index was highly influenced by the rubber and the OMMT.

Poly(lactic acid)–layered silicate nanocomposites: The effects of modifier and compatibilizer on the morphology and mechanical properties

“…27,28 Two binary nanocomposites and two ternary nanocomposites containing E-GMA as the rubbery phase were analyzed by TEM. 27,28 Two binary nanocomposites and two ternary nanocomposites containing E-GMA as the rubbery phase were analyzed by TEM.…”

“…27,28 Two binary nanocomposites and two ternary nanocomposites containing E-GMA as the rubbery phase were analyzed by TEM. 28 As suggested by the XRD results, increases in interlayer spacing of C15A, N5, and N8 are smaller compared to those of C25A and C30B, in both binary and ternary nanocomposites. Figure 2 shows the TEM images of PLA/C25A binary nanocomposite and PLA/E-GMA/ C25A ternary nanocomposite at different magnifications.…”

Super toughened poly(trimethylene terephthalate) composite using flowable crosslink elastomer blend

“…, when the temperature was lower than 75°C, the storage modulus of the blend was mainly determined by the PTT phase due to its higher modulus and weight ratio compared to the elastomer phase; when the temperature was above the T g of PTT, the modulus contribution of EMMA‐GMA/EMAA‐Zn(4/1) became more important in the blend with the significant decrease of PTT's modulus. Although EMMA‐GMA was reported as an effective impact modifier in polyesters , for PTT resin, the EMMA‐GMA/EMAA‐Zn(4/1) elastomer blend showed higher efficiency in the improvement in impact strength, elongation at break, tensile strength, and modulus, especially the modulus at high temperature. This flowable crosslinked elastomer blend led to an effective way to develop supper toughened PTT material with less sacrifice of the stiffness.…”

Thoughening of poly(lactic acid) with silicone rubber

“…Besides, two phases should have appropriate compatibility to fulfill required load transfer in the system to obtain a better tensile strength than individual components of a polymer blend . Grafting during crosslinking is a widespread used method for compatibilizing and thereby improving performance of polymer blend systems . In the current case, during the dynamic crosslinking of SR in PLA matrix, the formation of possible PLA‐ g ‐SR copolymer may act as an in situ compatibilizing agent.…”

“…Baouz et al improved toughness of PLA by blending with ethylene‐methyl acrylate‐glicydyl metacrylate (E‐MA‐GMA). Organo‐montmorillonite (OMMT) was used to tolerate negative effects of elastomer (E‐MA‐GMA) on tensile strength of the blends.…”