Sustainable Blends of Poly(propylene carbonate) and Stereocomplex Polylactide with Enhanced Rheological Properties and Heat Resistance

Abstract

Sustainable blends of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and stereocomplex polylactide (sc-PLA) were prepared by melt blending equimolar poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide acid) (PDLA) with PPC to form sc-PLA crystals in situ in the melt blending process. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed that only sc-PLA, no homo-crystallization of PLLA or PDLA, formed in the PPC matrix as the sc-PLA content was more than 10 wt%. Very intriguingly, scanning electronic microscopy observation showed that sc-PLA was evenly dispersed in the PPC phase as spherical particles and the sizes of sc-PLA particles did not obviously increase with increasing sc-PLA content. As a consequence, the rheological properties of PPC were greatly improved by incorporation of sc-PLA. When the sc-PLA content was 20 wt%, a percolation network structure was formed, and the blends showed solid-like behavior. The sc-PLA particles could reinforce the PPC matrix, especially at a temperature above the glass transition temperature of PPC. Moreover, the Vicat softening temperature of PPC/sc-PLA blends could be increased compared with that of neat PPC.