Synergistic effects of bio‐plasticizer and core–shell rubber on poly(lactic acid) toughness for sustainable flexible packaging applications

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) toughness was improved by blending with tributyrin (TBR) and poly(methyl methacrylate-co-ethyl acrylate) core-shell rubber (CSR) for toughening purpose. PLA was prepared by melt processing as binary (PLA/TBR or PLA/CSR) and ternary (PLA/TBR/CSR) blends with the total additive contents from 5 to 20 wt%. Ratios of TBR:CSR for the ternary blend were 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25. Based on the experimental results, a suitable formulation for the flexible packaging application was the addition of 5 wt% TBR and 15 wt% CSR. This formulation exhibited the values of strain at break and impact strength of 512% and 862 J/m, respectively. These values were comparable with those observed in low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Thermal test results indicated some significant changes of the transition temperatures and crystallization behavior which reflected the strong influences of rubbery functions and plasticizing properties of CSR and TBR. Migration test of TBR indicated that the migration rate increased with the test duration. Moreover, samples tested at 100 C exhibited larger amount of migrated TBR than that observed at 50 C.

Highly Enhanced Mechanical, Thermal, and Crystallization Performance of PLA/PBS Composite by Glass Fiber Coupling Agent Modification

“…It is well known that the slow crystallization rate of PLA leading to low crystallinity is the main cause of its poor heat resistance. The addition of nucleating agents is a simple and efficient method to increase the crystallization rate and improve the crystallinity of polymers [30][31][32]. Among various nucleating agents, fibers have distinct advantages due to their ability to promote polymer crystallization and significantly strengthen the matrix of the polymer, resulting in composite materials with excellent properties.…”

Structure evolution and properties enhancement of polyamide‐6/polyamide‐1010 films under uniaxial and biaxial stretching

“…In order to make up the shortcoming of insufficient toughness of polymers, the common way is by blending flexible material into the polymers as toughening phase, such as elastomers, [6][7][8][9][10] core-shell tougheners, [11][12][13] and other flexible or elastic polymer. [14][15][16] Wu et al 17 reported that the incorporation of polypropylene (PP) and maleic anhydride grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS-g-MA) could efficiently toughen polyamide 6 (PA6) due to the formation of core-shell structures in PA6 matrix.…”