Abstract
ABSTRACTIn order to make poly(lactide) (PLA) suitable for food packaging applications, its toughness must be improved. In this work, the plasticization effectiveness of a low‐molecular‐weight plasticizer and a triblock copolymer are analyzed. For this purpose, PLA is blended with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(lactide‐ethylene glycol‐lactide) (LA‐EG‐LA) triblock copolymer. The obtained results show that copolymers are more effective, reducing the glass transition temperature of PLA. Although PLA/PEG blends have been widely studied in the literature, the barrier character has not been analyzed, which is of paramount importance for packaging applications. Therefore, the permeability to carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapor of PLA/PEG blends has been characterized observing an increase with the incorporation of PEG, which is the expected behavior. However, the incorporation of LA‐EG‐LA copolymers leads to permeability values that are slightly higher, similar, or even lower than PLA. Furthermore, the free volume of the samples has been analyzed in order to gain a deeper insight on the factors affecting the transport properties. Overall, this works aims to provide a better understanding towards the design of biodegradable packaging with improved properties that could be also extended to other biodegradable polymers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48868.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
