Mechanical and Morphology Behaviours of Polybutylene (succinate)/Thermoplastic Polyurethaneblend

Abstract

Today, massive increase in the usage of plastic products leads to environmental pollution. To worsen the situation, biodegradable materials alone will not satisfy some properties required by the industries. Therefore, in this research, blends of biodegradable polybutylene(succinate)(PBS)/thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU) polymer blend were developed, with the aim of getting a biodegradable material with improved properties. The idea of selecting TPU as the second component is mainly to improve the toughness.It is also motivated by the advantages it offers such as good abrasion resistance, good mechanical properties with rubber-like elasticity as well as good tear resistance.The aims of the present study are to show the effect of blend ratios on the mechanical and morphology properties and identify the optimum weight ratio for PBS/TPU. Effect of various weight ratios (30wt%, 50wt% and 70 wt%) TPU addition into PBS were studied. Tensile test were examined in order to determine the best weight ratio PBS/TPU blend. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to examine compatibility and miscibility of the blends. The results from this work show that high weight ratio of PBS will influence high mechanical properties of the blend. PBS/TPU (70:30) have highest tensile modulus and strength compare to lower PBS concentration. SEM and DSC results were shown to support the tensile modulus and strength.