Abstract
The effects of nanoclay with surface modified by 25-30 wt% of octadecylamine (Clay-ODA) on mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymer (EMAC) blends with various Clay-ODA contents were investigated. The EMAC with 19.60 wt% of methyl acrylate (or EMAC1820) was used, and the ratio of PLA and EMAC1820 was 80/20 by weight, and the Clay-ODA contents were 1, 3, 5 and 7 phr. The morphology analysis showed that the addition of Clay-ODA could improve the miscibility of PLA/EMAC1820 blends due to the decrease the domain sizes of dispersed EMAC1820 phase in the PLA matrix. The mechanical properties showed Young’s modulus, stress at break and storage modulus of PLA/EMAC1820 blends was improved after adding Clay-ODA. The addition of Clay-ODA did not effect on the melting temperature and glass transition temperature of PLA and PLA blends. The thermal stability of PLA could improve by adding EMAC1820 and Clay-ODA.
Highlights
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is biodegradable polymer and a linear aliphatic thermoplastic polyester, which can be synthesized by condensation of lactic acid or ring opening polymerization of lactide [1,2]
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image observed the minor phase of EMAC1820 dispersed as spherical domains in PLA matrix and the microvoids surrounding the droplets of dispersed EMAC1820 phase indicated a weak interfacial adhesion in the blends
The stress at break was lower than tensile strength due to the sample did not break at a yield point, but the sample could absorb the tensile stress and elongated before the breaking point. This can be explained that the addition of Clay-ODA at high content could improve the stress at break of the PLA/EMAC1820 blends due to Clay-ODA could absorb the tensile stress from the polymer matrix before the breaking point
Summary
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is biodegradable polymer and a linear aliphatic thermoplastic polyester, which can be synthesized by condensation of lactic acid or ring opening polymerization of lactide [1,2]. PLA and low density polyethylene (LDPE) blends They reported that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the PLA/LDPE blends reduced with an increasing percentage of LDPE due to the lower intermolecular bonding of LDPE than of PLA. They used the electron beam irradiation to improve PLA/LDPE properties. Hasook et al [13] studied the mechanical properties of PLA/poly( -caprolactone) (PCL)/organoclay nanocomposites They reported that Young’s modulus of PLA/organoclay nanocomposite was more than that of neat PLA. This study indicated that PLA/liquid natural rubber-toughened nanocomposites with a higher modulus and that thermal stability could be produced. The blends and composites with varying concentration of Clay-ODA were prepared by a melt mixing technique in an internal mixer, and the sample was molded by compression molding
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