Improvement of Compatibility and Mechanical Performances of PLA/PBAT Composites with Epoxidized Soybean Oil as Compatibilizer

Abstract

With excellent comprehensive properties, polylactic acid/poly­(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) blends have found wide applications as degradable materials. During the processing procedure, a third component compatibilizer is introduced to improve the compatibility and mechanical properties of PLA/PBAT blends. In this work, environmentally friendly epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) is used for the compatibilization of PLA/PBAT blends through the chemical reaction of ESO with terminated hydroxyl groups of the two phases. Through the adjustment of the amounts of ESO, the compatibilization effect on the properties of PLA/PBAT blends is studied. The compatibilization mechanism of ESO was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry testing, and the results prove that ESO could react with PLA and PBAT to form a chemical bonding interface. The PLA/PBAT blends compatibilized with ESO demonstrated a significant increase in tensile strength, elongation at break, and notched impact strength.

From Waste to Reuse: Manufacture of Ecological Composites Based on Biopolyethylene/wood Powder with PE-g-MA and Macaíba Oil

“…However, composites with macaíba oil became more exible and reduced stiffness, compared to BioPE/WP and BioPE/WP/PEg-MA. This behavior can be explained by the plasticizing action of macaíba oil, which probably acts in the amorphous phase of BioPE, inserting itself between its macromolecules and favoring sliding and molecular mobility [56], as seen with the reduction of viscosity in torque rheometry. systems indicated a value of t calculated = -2.183.…”

Effects of Processing Conditions and Plasticizing-Reinforcing Modification on the Crystallization and Physical Properties of PLA Films

“…The global annual consumption of plastics reached 500 million tons in 2019; the huge amount of discarded plastic caused severe and irreversible environmental pollution. The development of biodegradable plastics can fundamentally solve the problem, and has therefore become one of the most important research topics [ 1 ].…”

“…Some brands of PLA resin with a strength up to 54.69 MPa are accepted as representatives to replace petroleum-based plastics, such as PE and PP. However, the inherent high brittleness and low toughness of PLA (e.g., elongation at a break of 7.69%, notched impact strength of 2.33 kJ/m 2 ) and its high cost severely restrict its wide application [ 1 ]. Used as packaging film, PLA resin has high crystal transparency, good solvent resistance (insoluble in alcohols, fats, hydrocarbons, edible oils, and mechanical oils), lower temperature heat sealing ability, better printability than polyolefins, and good ink retention, which can retain the flavour and package aesthetics of foods to a greater extent [ 9 ].…”

“…A biodegradable citrate ester plasticizer and vegetable oil-based epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) plasticizer toughened PLA in nearly ten years. The mechanical properties, thermal resistance, crystalline behaviors and processing performance changed [ 1 , 26 ]. Copolymerization with other monomers is another approach that has been used to improve the properties such as stiffness, permeability, crystallinity, and thermal stability [ 8 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Deep Understanding Degradation Mechanism of Green Biopolyester Nanocomposites with Various Cellulose Nanocrystal Based Nanohybrids

“…− 1 was assigned to C-H asymmetric stretching modes of CH 2 groups and aromatic ones. The peak of the ester carbonyl (C = O) stretching vibration was located at 1719 cm − 1(Han et al 2020). Besides, the peaks appearing between 1269 and 1101 cm − 1 were assigned to the asymmetric and symmetric stretching of the C-O group, and the peak at 728 cm − 1 correspond to the four consecutive methylene groups of PBAT matrix (Mohanty and Nayak 2012;Tavares et al 2018).…”