Abstract
This study reports the effect of poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) on the mechanical performance and shape memory behavior of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) specimens that were manufactured by injection molding and hot-press molding. The poor miscibility between PLA and PBSA was minimized by the addition of an epoxy styrene-acrylic oligomer (ESAO), which was commercially named Joncryl®. It was incorporated during the extrusion process. Tensile, impact strength, and hardness tests were carried out following international standards. PLA/PBSA blends with improved mechanical properties were obtained, which highlighted the sample that was compatibilized with ESAO, leading to a remarkable enhancement in elongation at break, but showing poor shape memory behaviour. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) images showed how the ductile properties were improved, while PBSA loading increased, thus leading to minimizing the brittleness of neat PLA. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed the low miscibility between these two polymers and the improving effect of PBSA in PLA crystallization. The bending test carried out on the sheets of PLA/PBSA blends showed the direct influence that the PBSA has on the reduction of the shape memory that is intrinsically offered by neat PLA.
Highlights
The use of polymers and plastics in our daily life is almost mandatory due to their huge range of properties
The bending test carried out on the sheets of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) blends showed the direct influence that the PBSA has on the reduction of the shape memory that is intrinsically offered by neat PLA
The influence of PBSA has a noticeable effect on mechanical performance, decreasing the tensile modulus and strength, which means that the brittle behaviour of the blends has diminished, leading to an increase in mechanical ductile properties
Summary
The use of polymers and plastics in our daily life is almost mandatory due to their huge range of properties For this reason, the demand for these materials has remarkably increased in the last decades. The demand for these materials has remarkably increased in the last decades Unlike their production, the treatment of these materials after their end-of-life has been neglected, resulting in the oversaturation of plastic wastes in the environment. The environmentally friendly properties of a polymer could be related to their origin (bio-sourced) or to their end-of-life (biodegradable or disintegrable in controlled compost soil). Taking into account their origin, some of the polymers have been fully or partially obtained from renewable resources, Materials 2019, 12, 622; doi:10.3390/ma12040622 www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
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