Miscibility, mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/polyester-diol blends

Abstract

We found new plasticizers with high molecular weight and low mobility for poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The new plasticizers are polyester-diols (PED) with nominal molecular weight 2000. Temperature dependence of oscillatory tensile moduli of PLA/PED blends in solid states was measured and miscible pairs of the blends were found. The miscible pairs are PLA/poly(ethylene adipate) and PLA/poly(diethylene adipate). Observation by scanning electron microscope and results of differential scanning calorimetry also indicate that these blends are miscible with PLA at weight ratio of PED less than or equal to 20%. In these blends, glass transition temperature is significantly lower than that of PLA. On the other hand, poly(butylene adipate) and poly(hexamethylene adipate) are partially miscible with PLA at weight ratio of PED 20%. The difference of the miscibility is discussed in terms of solubility parameter, which is calculated using the method by Small and configurational entropy.