The Effect of Core–Shell Ratio of Acrylic Impact Modifier on Toughening PLA

Abstract

Acrylic impact modifier (ACR), one kind of methyl methacrylate–butyl acrylate copolymer with a core–shell structure, was prepared by seed emulsion polymerization. The weight ratio of core–shell ranges from 85.5/14.5 to 71.9/28.1. Then PLA/ACR blends were prepared with a constant ratio of 80/20. The effect of core–shell ratio of ACR on toughening PLA was investigated. Torque analysis revealed that the torque values of PLA/ACR blends increased with increasing shell content of ACR. The impact strength of PLA/ACR blends reached the highest value of 77.1 kJ m−2 when the core–shell ratio of ACR was 79.2/20.8. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) photographs revealed that ACR was dispersed uniformly in the PLA matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) suggested that the plastic deformation and cavitations were the major toughening mechanism for the PLA/ACR blends. The shell partition PMMA of ACR was partially miscible with PLA from dynamic mechanical analysis.

A study on the mechanical, thermal properties and crystallization behavior of poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic poly(propylene carbonate) polyurethane blends

“…5(a-f), the impact fracture surface of pure PLA showed relatively smooth, indicating that little shear yielding had taken place during the impact test. This was in agreement with low impact strength of pure PLA 31. FromFig.…”

“…Core-shell impact modiers, such as acrylic impact modier (ACR), 27,28 acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) 29 and methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBS), 30 are important types of toughener of PLA. Li et al 31 have reported that ACR with different core-shell ratios were synthesized and used to toughen PLA. The impact strength of PLA could be signicantly improved by ACR.…”

Improvements in mechanical strength and thermal stability of injection and compression molded components based on Poly Lactic Acids

“…Commonly, polymers functionalized with maleate (nonacrylate [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] ) and glycidyl methacrylate groups (acrylate [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] ) are often employed. Additives containing these functionalities can be perfectly combined with PLA, especially if they are constituted by a common skeleton and provide polymer blends with improved ductility and strength.…”

Grafting Modification of the Reactive Core-Shell Particles to Enhance the Toughening Ability of Polylactide

“…In order to improve the toughness of PLA, some strategies such as plasticization [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], copolymerization [ 19 , 20 , 21 ] and blending with tough polymers and thermoplastic elastomers were widely adopted [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Core-shell structured elastomer particles are another important toughener of PLA [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. As we know, the typical core-shell particles include an elastic rubber core phase, such as polybutadiene and poly (butyl acrylate), and a hard plastic shell phase, such as polystyrene and poly (methyl methacrylate).…”