Abstract
The present work investigates the distribution of nanoclay particles at the interface and their influence on the microstructure development and non-linear rheological properties of reactively processed biodegradable polylactide/poly(butylene succinate) blend nanocomposites. Two types of organoclays, one is more hydrophilic (Cloisite®30B (C30B)) and another one is more hydrophobic (BetsopaTM (BET)), were used at different concentrations. Surface and transmission electron microscopies were respectively used to study the blend morphology evolution and for probing the dispersion and distribution of nanoclay platelets within the blend matrix and at the interface. The results suggested that both organoclays tended to localize at the interface between the blend’s two phases and encapsulate the dispersed poly(butylene succinate) phase, thereby suppressing coalescence. Using small angle X-ray scattering the probability of finding neighboring nanoclay particles in the blend matrix was calculated using the Generalized Indirect Fourier Transformation technique. Fourier Transform-rheology was utilized for quantifying nonlinear rheological responses and for correlating the extent of dispersion as well as the blend morphological evolution, for different organoclay loadings. The rheological responses were in good agreement with the X-ray scattering and electron microscopic results. It was revealed that C30B nanoparticles were more efficient in stabilizing the morphologies by evenly distributing at the interface. Nonlinear coefficient from FT-rheology was found to be more pronounced in case of blends filled with C30B, indicating better dispersion of C30B compare with BET which was in agreement with the SAXS results.
Highlights
Bio-based polymers have attracted significant attention recently, owing to their biodegradability, environmental concerns, and capabilities as new alternatives to fossil fuel-based polymers [1,2].Polylactide (PLA) is known to be one of the most available biodegradable polymers all, owing to its reasonable stiffness and thermal properties
Unlike the frequency sweep results in which Cloisite® 30B (C30B) loading dramatically increased the moduli G’(ω) and G”(ω) of the PLA/poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/J blend, the results of Fourier Transform (FT)-rheology analysis show that the addition of 5 wt % of C30B has no profound effect on I3/1 especially in the MAOS regions corresponding to the Q0 values, whereas both the 3 wt % and 5 wt % C30B blends exhibit similar
Small amplitude oscillatory shear measurements revealed that organoclay loadings induced solid-like behavior when low frequency regions exhibited plateau moduli
Summary
Bio-based polymers have attracted significant attention recently, owing to their biodegradability, environmental concerns, and capabilities as new alternatives to fossil fuel-based polymers [1,2]. Kumar et al [11] studied the reactive compatibilization effects of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) on the morphology of PLA/PBAT blends. When nanoclays were at PLLA phase, at low contents no size reduction was observed, while at high content some of the nanoclays were located at the interface and hindered the coalescence This suggests that nanoclay localization can play an important role in controlling the morphology of the immiscible polymer blends. Has been2017, no 9, quantification of the distribution and dispersion of nanoclay particles at the interface Polymers and their influence on morphology development and rheological properties of immiscible polymer blend The nanocomposites. The main objectiveand of this work was to effect extensively the extent of dispersion of two different organoclays to quantify their on theinvestigate microstructure development and rheology different organoclays and to quantify their effect on the microstructure development and rheology of reactively compatibilized PLA/PBS blends. The observations methodsplatelets supported the conclusions of rheological analysis.obtained using these methods supported the conclusions of rheological analysis
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