Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Polylactide (PLA)/poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blends with four different weight ratios were prepared by melt mixing. PLA and PHBV in PLA/PHBV blends were immiscible while the weak interaction between PLA and PHBV existed. The PHBV domains below 2 μm were dispersed in PLA matrix uniformly. The addition of PHBV made the crystallization of PLA easier due to PHBV acting as nucleating agent. PLA spherulites in PLA/PHBV blends presented various banded structures. In addition, the crystallinity of neat PLA was lower than those of PLA/PHBV blends. With the increase of PHBV content in PLA/PHBV blends, the crystallinity of PLA/PHBV blends increased. PHBV could enhance significantly the toughness of PLA. However, with the increase of PHBV content, the yield stress (σy), tensile modulus (E), and the yield strain (εy) of PLA/PHBV blends decreased gradually. In addition, incorporation of PHBV to PLA caused a transformation from an optical transparent to an opaque system. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42689.

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