Preparation and characterizations of ternary biodegradable blends composed of polylactide, poly(ε-caprolactone), and wood flour
-
Hsin-Tzu Liao
Abstract
Melt blending of polylactide (PLA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and wood flour (WF) was performed in an effort to overcome the major drawbacks (brittleness and high price) of PLA. In addition, the acrylic acid (AA)-grafted PLA70PCL30 (PLA70PCL30-g-AA) was used as the alternative for the preparation of ternary blends to improve the compatibility and the dispersability of WF within the PLA70PCL30 matrix. As expected, PCL improved the elongation at break and the toughness of PLA but decreased the tensile strength and modulus. Because the hydrophilic WF is dispersed physically in the hydrophobic PLA70PCL30 matrix, as the result of Fourier transform infrared analysis, the mechanical properties of PLA70PCL30 became noticeably worse when it was blended with WF. This problem was successfully conquered by using PLA70PCL30-g-AA to replace PLA70PCL30 due to the formation of an ester carbonyl group between PLA70PCL30-g-AA and WF. Furthermore, the PLA70PCL30-g-AA/WF blend provided a plateau tensile strength at break when the WF content was up to 50 wt%. PLA70PCL30/WF exhibited a tensile strength at break of approximately 3–25 MPa more than PLA70PCL30-g-AA/WF. By using p-cresol and tyrosinase, the enzymatic biodegradable test showed that PLA70PCL30-g-AA is somewhat more biodegradable than PLA70PCL30 because the former has better water absorption. After 16 weeks, the weight loss of the PLA70PCL30/WF (50 wt%) composite was >80%. PLA70PCL30-g-AA/WF exhibited a weight loss of approximately 1–12 wt% more than PLA70PCL30-g-AA/WF. It was also found that the addition of WF to PLA70PCL30 or PLA70PCL30-g-AA decreased the crystallinity of PLA and PCL in PLA70PCL30 or PLA70PCL30-g-AA and then increased their biodegradable property.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Review
- Influence of hydrostatic pressure and volumetric strain on the mechanical long term behavior of polymers
- Original Articles
- Dynamic pressure analysis as a tool for determination of sharkskin instability by extrusion of molten polymers
- Young’s modulus and prediction of plastics/elastomer blends
- Comparison of tribological performance of PEEK, UHMWPE, glass fiber reinforced PTFE and PTFE reinforced PEI composite materials under dry and lubricated conditions
- Study on the solidification kinetics of high-density polyethylene during thin-walled injection molding process
- The influence of level of interfacial healing on the weld-line strengths of injection molded parts
- Investigation on Nylon 66 silicate nanocomposites modified under gamma radiation
- Effect of mold surface antistiction treatment on microinjection replication quality using Cr-N/Zr-DLC thin-layer coating
- Estimation of thermal conductivity of PP/Al(OH)3/Mg(OH)2 composites
- Preparation and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol/carbon nanotube (PVA/CNT) conductive nanofibers
- Copolymerization of 5-norbornene-2-metheneoxy-trimethylsilyl with methyl 5-norbornene-2-carboxylate catalyzed by a novel Ni(benzocyclohexan-ketonaphthylimino)2/B(C6F5)3) system
- A modified polyurethane elastomer using polyfunctional HTPB synthesized by in-situ nitroxide mediated polymerization of 1,3-butadiene
- Preparation and characterizations of ternary biodegradable blends composed of polylactide, poly(ε-caprolactone), and wood flour
- Polypropylene + boehmite nanocomposite fibers
- Development of PCL-PEG nanofibrous mats as alternative carriers for recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Review
- Influence of hydrostatic pressure and volumetric strain on the mechanical long term behavior of polymers
- Original Articles
- Dynamic pressure analysis as a tool for determination of sharkskin instability by extrusion of molten polymers
- Young’s modulus and prediction of plastics/elastomer blends
- Comparison of tribological performance of PEEK, UHMWPE, glass fiber reinforced PTFE and PTFE reinforced PEI composite materials under dry and lubricated conditions
- Study on the solidification kinetics of high-density polyethylene during thin-walled injection molding process
- The influence of level of interfacial healing on the weld-line strengths of injection molded parts
- Investigation on Nylon 66 silicate nanocomposites modified under gamma radiation
- Effect of mold surface antistiction treatment on microinjection replication quality using Cr-N/Zr-DLC thin-layer coating
- Estimation of thermal conductivity of PP/Al(OH)3/Mg(OH)2 composites
- Preparation and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol/carbon nanotube (PVA/CNT) conductive nanofibers
- Copolymerization of 5-norbornene-2-metheneoxy-trimethylsilyl with methyl 5-norbornene-2-carboxylate catalyzed by a novel Ni(benzocyclohexan-ketonaphthylimino)2/B(C6F5)3) system
- A modified polyurethane elastomer using polyfunctional HTPB synthesized by in-situ nitroxide mediated polymerization of 1,3-butadiene
- Preparation and characterizations of ternary biodegradable blends composed of polylactide, poly(ε-caprolactone), and wood flour
- Polypropylene + boehmite nanocomposite fibers
- Development of PCL-PEG nanofibrous mats as alternative carriers for recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells
