Abstract
The mechanical properties and tear resistance of an ecofriendly flexible packaging film, i.e., poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly (butylene adipate–co–terephthalate) (PBAT) film, were investigated via a blown film extrusion process. The application of PLA and PBAT in product packaging is limited due to the high brittleness, low stiffness, and incompatibility of the materials. In this study, the effects of various plasticizers, such as adipate, adipic acid, glycerol ester, and adipic acid ester, on the plasticization of PLA and fabrication of the PLA/PBAT blown film were comprehensively evaluated. It was determined that the plasticizer containing ether and ester functionalities (i.e., adipic acid ester) improved the flexibility of PLA as well as its compatibility with PBAT. It was found that the addition of the plasticizer effectively promoted chain mobility of the PLA matrix. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion between the plasticized PLA domain and PBAT matrix was enhanced. The results of the present study demonstrated that the plasticized PLA/PBAT blown film prepared utilizing a blown film extrusion process exhibited improved tear resistance, which increased from 4.63 to 8.67 N/mm in machine direction and from 13.19 to 16.16 N/mm in the transverse direction.
Highlights
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a well-known biodegradable polymer, which has attracted significant attention as a possible solution to alleviate environmental pollution and waste accumulation
We focused on the preparation of plasticized PLA/Poly(butylene adipate–co–terephthalate) (PBAT) blown films utilizing suitable plasticizers to improve tear resistance
It was found that the PBAT blown film containing PLA plasticized by adipic acid ester, which was obtained via a blown process, exhibited improved mechanical and tear resistance properties compared to the PLA/PBAT blown film without any plasticizers
Summary
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a well-known biodegradable polymer, which has attracted significant attention as a possible solution to alleviate environmental pollution and waste accumulation. The use of PLA/PBAT blends in the film packaging industry is limited because of the undesirable mechanical properties, including poor tear strength due to brittleness of PLA as well as its incompatibility with PBAT. These drawbacks could be resolved by the addition of plasticizers to PLA. Several PLA plasticizers, such as acetyl tributyl citrate [34,35,36], diethyl adipate [37,38], lactides [8,39], and polyethylene glycol [40,41], have been studied These results have successfully demonstrated the plasticization of PLA by blending with other polymers such as starch and PBAT. It was found that the PBAT blown film containing PLA plasticized by adipic acid ester, which was obtained via a blown process, exhibited improved mechanical and tear resistance properties compared to the PLA/PBAT blown film without any plasticizers
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