Fabrication of poly(vinyl alcohol) bottle with high barrier property and mechanical property via compound plasticization

Abstract

AbstractThe conventional solution method can hardly manufacture the three‐dimensional poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) part, thus blocking its further industrial development. Complex‐shaped PVA products could be fabricated by thermal processing, however, the migration of plasticizers in PVA melt‐processed products frequently leads to deteriorated performance and limited application. In this article, part glycerol was replaced by solid polyols with higher molecular weight in compound plasticizing systems, finally realizing the continuous production of three‐dimensional PVA bottles. The remaining glycerol offered the easy access for solid polyols to enter the PVA molecules, which provided better stability for the plasticized system during the blow molding processing. With the incorporation of solid polyols, the migration behaviors of plasticizers were remarkably inhibited. The extraction migration rate was remarkably reduced from 54.1% to 7.4%, and the contact migration rate was reduced from 14.0% to 5.4%. The environmental‐friendly PVA bottles possessed the excellent barrier properties and axial bearing pressure capacity. The permeation rate of petroleum ether was reduced from 1.6 to 0.9 g·mm/m2·day, and the axial bearing pressure was increased from 74.3 to 148.7 N, demonstrating the promising application for PVA in barrier packaging fields.