The Consequence of Epoxidized Soybean Oil in the Toughening of Polylactide and Micro-Fibrillated Cellulose Blend

Abstract

Utilization of modest to good strength and stiffness of polylactide (PLA) as well as overcoming its brittle phenomenon is the primary concern of this study. Therefore, melt-blending with a lab-scale two-screw extruder was conducted on PLA and micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) with and without epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) as a reactive plasticiser. Introducing ESO has a major effect on the blends’ toughness. A low span scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe PLAs transition from brittle to ductile behavior. PLA/MFC/ESO ternary blends’ elongation-at-break, bending strain and notch impact strength were improved to 105, 9.7% and 7.20 kJ/m2 respectively. This assembly also helps in the increase of the plasticisation effect which leads to reduced glass transition Tg and crystallization Tc temperatures, observable using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows an increase in ternary blends’ decomposition temperature compared with neat PLA which suggests the blends are thermally stable. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy allowed significant changes in peak positions to explain the interactions among blended components. The entire process rests on a simple, effective methodology whereby improved PLA/MFC blend toughness by ESO is achieved.