Rheological and mechanical properties, heat resistance and hydrolytic degradation of poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate)/stereocomplex polylactide blends

Abstract

In this study, equimolar amounts of poly(l‐lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(d‐lactide acid) (PDLA) were melt‐blended with PBSA, to obtain a novel and environmentally friendly PBSA/sc‐PLA blend, through in situ formation of stereo‐complex poly(lactic acid) (sc‐PLA). Differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometry confirmed the formation of sc‐PLA in PBSA matrix. The sc‐PLA was uniformly dispersed in PBSA matrix. Up to 20 wt% sc‐PLA concentration, the PBSA/sc‐PLA blends showed solid‐like flow behavior in the low‐frequency region. Moreover, sc‐PLA could reinforce the PBSA matrix. The Young's modulus, yield strength, and storage modulus of PBSA/sc‐PLA blend increased with increase in sc‐PLA content. In addition, the heat deflection temperatures of PBSA/sc‐PLA blends increased on incorporation of sc‐PLA, thus enhancing the heat resistance. Compared with neat PBSA, the hydrolytic degradation of PBSA/sc‐PLA blends was improved. This work provides an effective strategy to obtain high performance PBSA materials and expand the application scope of PBSA.

A Green Treatment Mitigates the Limitations of Coffee Silver Skin as a Filler for PLA/PBSA Compatibilized Biocomposites

“…The PLA/PBSA blend (labeled B, as reported in the Materials and Methods section) shows rheological parameters in line with similar systems reported in the literature [ 19 , 20 ], while the addition of J considerably increases the values of , , and throughout the whole investigated frequency range. This implies that J is effective as a compatibilizer/chain extender on the PLA/PBSA blend at the processing temperature investigated in this work.…”

“…The observed variations in microstructure are in line with what has been reported in the literature for similar systems [17,18,22,23,52] and help explain the mechanical results reported in Section 2.1.3. The PLA/PBSA blend (labeled B, as reported in the Materials and Methods section) shows rheological parameters in line with similar systems reported in the literature [19,20], while the addition of J considerably increases the values of η * , G ′ , and G ′′ throughout the whole investigated frequency range. This implies that J is effective as a compatibilizer/chain extender on the PLA/PBSA blend at the processing temperature investigated in this work.…”

“…To overcome these limitations, PLA is often blended with ductile conventional or bioderived polymers [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. For example, the blend of PLA and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) combines the excellent mechanical properties and processability of PLA with the improved toughness, flexibility, and tear resistance provided by PBSA [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. However, PLA and PBSA are inherently immiscible due to differences in polarity and crystallization behavior.…”