Phase structure and deformation-strength properties of mixtures of polylactic acid with flexible-chain polyesters

Abstract

Polylactic acid (polylactide) is the most widely used biodegradable polymer. To eliminate its brittleness and low flexibility, various approaches to plasticization are used, in particular, compounding with more flexible polymers. The possibilities of plasticizing polylactide with polycaprolactone and polybutylene adipate/terephthalate by mixing polymers in a solution with subsequent film formation have been studied as well as the thermophysical and mechanical characteristics of the resulting film materials have been studied. The effect of plasticizer additives on the phase structure of polylactide with a decrease in its crystallinity and crystallite perfection was found. Thus, a plasticizing effect with polylactide amorphization was observed. The flexibility of the materials increased, as evidenced by the increase in the relative elongation under tensile strain of the films.