Hybrid Nanocomposites of Poly(Lactic Acid)/Thermoplastic Polyurethane with Nanosilica/Montmorillonite

Abstract

The aim of this study is to improve the physical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) by incorporating thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) and/or nanosilica (nSiO2). PLA was first melt mixed with five loadings of TPU (10–50 wt%) on a twin-screw extruder, followed by injection molding. The addition of TPU was found to increase the impact strength, elongation at break and thermal stability of the blends, but decrease the tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Based on a better combination of the mechanical properties, the 70/30 (w/w) PLA/TPU blend was selected for preparing both single and hybrid nanocomposites with a fix total nanofiller content of 5 parts per hundred of resin (phr), and the OMMT/nSiO2 weight ratios were 5/0, 2/3, 3/2 and 0/5 (phr/phr). The Young’s modulus and thermal stability of the nanocomposites were all higher than those of the neat 70/30 PLA/TPU blend, but at the expense of reducing the tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength. However, all the nanocomposites exhibited higher impact strength and Young’s modulus than the neat PLA. Among the four nanocomposites, a single-filler nanocomposite containing 5 phr nSiO2 exhibited the highest impact strength and thermal stability, indicating that there was no synergistic effect of the two nanofillers on the investigated physical properties. However, the hybrid nanocomposite containing 2/3 (phr/phr) OMMT/nSiO2 possessed a compromise in the tensile properties.