Abstract
Non-isothermal thermogravimetry in an inert atmosphere was used to investigate the thermal stability of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), polylactide (PLA), thermoplastic starch (TPS) and their binary (PCL/PLA,PCL/TPS andPLA/TPS) and ternary (PCL/PLA/TPS) blends. All investigated blends were prepared by Brabender kneading chamber. A two-stage degradation pattern is seen in the case ofPCL, whilePLAexhibits only single stage degradation. On the other hand, the degradation of neat TPS proceeds through three degradation stages. It was found that addition ofPLAaffects the degradation ofPCL/PLAblends indicatingPLA's destabilising effect onPCL. TPS addition thermally destabilizes both,PCLandPLA, but notably thePCLsample. Likewise, that addition of TPS thermally destabilized all investigated ternary blends. The obtained data were used for the kinetic analysis of the degradation process. By using the isoconversional Friedman method and the multivariate nonlinear regression method kinetic analysis was performed. Kinetic analysis revealed the complexity of the thermal degradation process for neat samples and all investigated blends. Kinetic parameters (activation energy, pre-exponential factor and kinetic model) for each degradation stage of neat samples and all investigated blends were calculated.
Highlights
In recent decades, the growing environmental awareness has encouraged the development of biodegradable materials from renewable resources to replace conventional non-biodegradable materials in many applications
The plastics industry started looking for alternative sources of raw materials in the last few decades, and considerable interest is shown in natural, renewable solutions
Neat PCL showed a two-stage degradation pattern, where its degradation starts at 374 °C (Tonset1) and ends at 475 °C with a peak temperature at 383 °C (Tmax1) and 431 °C (Tmax2)
Summary
The growing environmental awareness has encouraged the development of biodegradable materials from renewable resources to replace conventional non-biodegradable materials in many applications. The modification of biopolymers by blending with other biopolymers and/or biodegradable materials has many advantages, since it offers an option to adjust properties in a wide range, while legislation favors completely compostable materials with minimal already mentioned carbon-dioxide emission. Polysaccharides such as starches stand out as a promising replacement of synthetic polymers in plastics industries due to their low cost, non-toxicity, biodegradability and availability.[2,3,4] A large number
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