Studies on Rheological,Thermal, and Mechanical Properties of Polylactide/Methyl Methacrylate-Butadiene-Styrene Copolymer/Poly(propylene carbonate) Polyurethane Ternary Blends

Polylactide(PLA), methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymer(MBS), and poly(propylene carbonate) polyurethane(PPCU) were blended and subjected to blown film process. The rheological, mechanical, morphological, thermal, and crystalline properties of the PLA/MBS/PPCU ternary blends and the mechanical properties of the resulting films were studied. Results of mechanical test showed that PPCU and MBS could synergistically toughen PLA. The impact strength of 50/10/40 PLA/MBS/PPCU blend(74.7 k J/m~2)was about 7.5 times higher than that of the neat PLA(10.8 k J/m~2), and the elongation at break of 50/10/40 PLA/MBS/PPCU blend(276.5%) was higher by about 45 times that of PLA(6.2%). The tear strength of PLA/MBS/PPCU films was 20 k N/m higher than that of PLA, and the elongation at break(MD/TD) of 50/10/40 PLA/MBS/PPCU films was 271.1%/222.3%, whereas that of PLA was only 2.7%/3.0%. POM observations displayed that the density of spherulite nucleation increased and the size of crystalline particles decreased with the addition of MBS. With increasing PPCU content from 5% to 20%, the density of spherulite nucleation increased and the size of crystalline particles decreased continuously, but the nucleation density of spherulites was slightly lowered with increasing PPCU content from 30% to 40%. The PLA/MBS/PPCU films exhibited excellent mechanical properties, which expanded the application range of these biodegradable films.     

Rheological,thermal and mechanical properties of biodegradable poly(propylene carbonate)/polylactide/Poly(1,2-propylene glycol adipate) blown films

Poly(propylene carbonate)(PPC) was blended with polylactide(PLA) and poly(1,2-propylene glycol adipate)(PPA) using a twin screw extruder. Then the PPC/PLA/PPA films were prepared using the blown film technique. DMA results showed that PPA could act as a plasticizer and improve the miscibility between PPC and PLA. Crystal morphology displayed that blending PLA with the amorphous PPC led to a decrease of the spherulite size of PLA. The results of mechanical tests indicated that PPC-rich films showed high elongation at break and PLA-rich films showed high tear strength and good optical properties. The content of PPC and PLA significantly affected the physical properties of the films. With increasing PPC content, the melt strengths of the PPC/PLA/PPA films were enhanced. These findings contributed to the biodegradable materials application for designing and manufacturing polymer packaging.     

Oxygen Barrier LDPE/LLDPE/Organoclay Nano-Composite Films for Food Packaging

Summary: This study intends to replace polyethylene multi-layer films used in food packaging industry with single-layer polyethylene nanocomposites films. Nanocomposites of LDPE/LLDPE/ montmorillonite organoclay were prepared by melt compounding in a twin extruder and then film blown to prepare thin films. LLDPE-g-MA was used as compatibilizer to achieve better interaction between the blend and organoclay. Various compositions of organoclay and compatibilizer were prepared. The structure of nanocomposites was characterized by XRD and TEM. Permeability properties were measured using a permeability measuring set-up and aspect ratio of the particles was evaluated using permeability data. The results showed that addition of organoclay even at low level (below 5 phr) had significant effect on barrier properties of the nanocomposites. Oxygen permeability decreased by 50% by adding only 3 phr of nanoclay into the blend. Crystalline structure of the nanocomposites was studied by DSC. Addition of clay also led to increase in melting point and somewhat decrease in the crystalline level. Given the fact that crystals are effectively non-permeable, the concomitant reduction in crystallinity of the blend with decrease in permeability suggests that barrier properties arise from tortuousity of nanoparticles in the blend.     

The morphological,mechanical, rheological,and thermal properties of PLA/PBAT blown films with chain extender

Biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT) blends and films were prepared using melt blending and blowing films technique in the presence of chain extender‐Joncryl ADR 4370F. The ADR contains epoxy functional groups and used as a compatibilizer. The morphological, mechanical, rheological, thermal, and crystalline properties of the PLA/PBAT/ADR blown films were studied. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs of the films revealed more ductile deformation with increasing PBAT content. The addition of PBAT enhanced the toughness of the PLA film. Tensile tests indicated that the elongation at break increased from 20.5% to 334.6% in the machine direction and from 7.1% to 715.9% in the transverse direction. The Young modulus increased from 2690.5 to 395.6 MPa in the machine direction and from 2623.5 to 154.0 MPa in the transverse direction. The sealing strength of 40/60/0.15 PLA/PBAT/ADR film was the highest among all the samples up to 9.4 N 15 mm⁻¹. These findings gave important implications for designing and manufacturing polymer packaging materials.     

Synergistic Effect of Nucleation and Compatibilization on the Polylactide and Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) Blend Films

Polylactide(PLA) films blended with 10 wt% poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT) were prepared by using a twin screw extruder in the presence of the nucleating agent of titanium dioxide(TiO_2) and the compatibilizers of toluene diisocyanate(TDI) and PLA-grafted-maleic anhydride(PLA-g-MA). The synergistic effect of the nucleation and compatibilization on the properties and crystallization behavior of the PLA/PBAT(PLB) films was explored. The results showed that the addition of TiO_2 significantly enhanced the tensile strength and the impact tensile resistance of the PLB films while slightly decreased its thermal stability. In addition, the compatibilizers of TDI and PLA-g-MA in the system not only affected the crystallinity and cold crystallization process of the PLB films, but also increased the mechanical properties of them due to the improvement of the interfacial interaction between PLA and PBAT revealed by the morphological measurement. The synergistic effects of the nucleating agent and the compatibilizer afforded the blend films with increased tensile strength and impact tensile toughness, improved cold crystallization property and X_c.     

海藻酸钠/羧甲基淀粉共混膜

用溶液共混法成功制备出海藻酸钠／羧甲基淀粉共混膜，IR、XRD、SEM结构表征以及力学性能、吸水性和水蒸汽透过率测定结果表明：共混膜中海藻酸钠和羧甲基淀粉间存在强烈的分子间氢键等相互作用及良好的相容性；随羧甲基淀粉含量的增加，共混膜的吸水率显著降低；当羧甲基淀粉含量(wCMS)=0．20时，共混膜的抗张强度和断裂伸长率分别为53．1MPa和5．3％，比海藻酸钠膜分别提高了97．4％和60．6％，水蒸汽透过率达最小值，是一种具有潜在应用前景的可食性包装膜材料。     

Preparation of LDPE-acetylated/butyrylated starch blend blow films and characterization

Development of modified plastics has been studied through the LDPE-acylated starch blend films to examine the effect of different acyl groups and degrees of substitution(DS) on properties of films.Corn starch was modified with acetyl and butyryl groups and films were prepared by blending acylated starch with low density polyethylene(LDPE).Systematic studies were done to observe the effect of acyl groups,DS and starch concentration on the properties and biodegradability of the blend films.It was observed that blend films containing 5% acetylated and butyrylated starches of high DS(2.5,1.7) maintained 75% and 83% of tensile strength of LDPE films.Thermal analysis results indicated that acetylated and butyrylated starch blend films decomposed at 370 °C and 389 °C which were higher than the decomposition temperature of native starch film(349 °C).Scanning electron micrographs of blend films containing high DS acylated starch showed well dispersed starch particles due to improvement in dispersion between starch and LDPE.Water absorption capacity of high DS acetylated and butyrylated starch blend films(4.18% and 3.76%,respectively) was lower than that of native starch films(5%).This study has an advantage because of blown films prepared can be integrated with the present manufacturing systems without any other requirement.     

Crystallinity and dimensional stability of biaxial oriented poly(lactic acid) films

Transparent biaxial oriented poly(lactic acid) (BOPLA) films with improved dimensional stability were successfully prepared by controlling the crystallization of poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The crystalline morphology of PLA films can be manipulated by changing certain processing parameters, such as stretch ratio, heat setting temperatures, and heat setting time. Optical and mechanical properties as well as dimensional stability of the resulting polymer films are governed by their crystallinity and crystalline morphology. Crystallization behavior and kinetics of PLA, therefore, were investigated using wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Mechanical properties and the dimensional stability of the biaxial oriented PLA films were obtained and correlated with their processing conditions. Poly(lactic acid) films prepared by melt extrusion methods have great potential for food packaging, shrink labeling and protective film applications. However, shrinkage at elevated processing temperature should be minimized to avoid puckering of the polymer film. Shrinkage of less than 2% was achieved for a BOPLA film stretched 300% in both directions at 75 °C and then annealed at 160 °C for 30 s. Fabrication, properties, and potential applications of a series of biodegradable films will be described.     

Mechanical,thermal and rheological properties and morphology of poly (lactic acid)/poly (propylene carbonate) blends prepared by vane extruder

In this study, the poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and poly (propylene carbonate) (PPC) blends with different compositions were prepared by a novel vane extruder based on elongation rheology. The mechanical properties, morphologies, crystallization behavior, thermal stability, and rheological properties of the blends were investigated. Mechanical test showed that PLA could be toughened by PPC to some extent, and the impact strength of the PLA was maximized when PPC content was about 30%. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed that PPC had little effect on the melting process, the crystallization behavior of PLA component in the blend was improved, and the cold crystallizability of PLA decreased with the increase of PPC content when the PPC content was less than 50%. Thermogravimetry analysis showed that the thermal stability of the blends was improved by compounding with PLA. Scanning electron microscope showed that the dispersion of PLA droplets in PPC matrix was better than that of PPC droplets in PLA matrix. Rheological test showed that the melt viscosity of the pure PLA and the blend with 10% PPC was insensitive to shear rate, and the blends melt appeared shear thinning phenomenon with the increase of PPC content. It also showed that the blends microstructure changed with the addition of PPC and the blends with PPC content in a certain range had similar stress relaxation mechanism. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improvement of compatibility,mechanical, thermal and dielectric properties of poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends and their composites with porous clay heterostructures from mixed surfactant systems

In this study, nanocomposite poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) blends were prepared through polymer blending in the presence of multi-functional epoxy as a compatibilizer that could react with epoxy group and terminated end group of two phases to increase interfacial adhesion between PLA and PBAT and improve the toughness of PLA. The effects of porous clay heterostructure from mixed CTAB:CTAC surfactant in the mole ratio of 1:2 (B1C2-PCH) were also investigated. The elongation at break of the blends reached 38%, which was eight times that of neat PLA. The cryo-fractured surface demonstrated the interfacial adhesion caused by the interaction of the epoxy group of the reactive compatibilizer with the terminal carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of PLA and PBAT. Moreover, PBAT reduced the crystallization rate and percent crystallinity of the PLA matrix and further decreased when compatibilizer was used. Alternatively, B1C2-PCH accelerated the heterogeneous nucleation and crystallization of the nanocomposite films. After adding small amount of B1C2-PCH, the nanocomposite films demonstrated excellent dielectric properties. Therefore, the improvement of PLA/PBAT nanocomposite blends are capable to be further developed as polymeric capacitor films.     

Characterization of an antimicrobial poly(lactic acid) film prepared with poly(ε‐caprolactone) and thymol for active packaging

Antimicrobial active films based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared with poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and thymol (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 wt%) by solvent casting methods. The films were characterized by thermal, structural, mechanical, gas barrier, and antimicrobial properties. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the surface of film became rougher with certain porosity when thymol was incorporated into the PLA/PCL blends. Thymol acted as plasticizers, which reduce the intermolecular forces of polymer chains, thus improving the flexibility and extensibility of the films. The addition of PCL into the pure PLA film decreased the glass transition temperature of the films. The presence of thymol decreased the crystallinity of PLA phase, but did not affect the thermal stability of films. Water vapor barrier properties of films slightly decreased with the increase of thymol loading. The antimicrobial properties of thymol containing films showed a significant activity against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The results indicated the potential of PLA/PCL/thymol composites for applications in antimicrobial packaging. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transparent and ductile poly(lactic acid)/poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) blends: Structure and properties

Poly(butyl acrylate) was prepared by the free radical polymerization of butyl acrylate as an initiator in the presence of 2,2′-Azoisobu-tyronitrile (AIBN) and the average molecular weight, polydispersity and thermal stability were evaluated. PLA and PBA were melt blended using a Haake Rheometer, and the light transmission, thermal properties, dynamic rheological properties, mechanical properties, phase morphology of blends and toughening mechanism were investigated. Dynamic rheology, SEM and DSC results show that the PLA is partial miscible with PBA. The PBA component improved the crystallization ability of PLA and the crystallinity of PLA increased with content of PBA (<15 wt.%). With the increase of PBA, the tensile strength and modulus of the blend decreased slightly while the elongation at break and toughness were dramatically increased. With the addition of PBA, the failure mode changes from brittle fracture of neat PLA to ductile fracture of the blend. Rheological results revealed the complex viscosity and melt elasticity of the blends decreased with increasing content of PBA and phase segregation occurred at loading above 11 wt.% PBA. UV–vis light transmittance showed that PLA/PBA blends with a high transparency, and the transmittance decreased with the amount of PBA.     

Fully-biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend films with compositional gradient

Fully-biodegradable bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/chemosynthetic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend films with compositional gradient from one surface to the other surface of the films were prepared by a dissolution-diffusion technique. Three kinds of PVA samples, high- and low-molecular weight atactic PVA and highly syndiotactic PVA (s-PVA), were used in order to investigate the effects of molecular weight and tactic structure on the generation of compositional gradient. The solution of PHB in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP), which is also a good solvent for PVA, was cast on the PVA film and then the solvent HFIP was evaporated. By selecting the optimum volume of solvent and the evaporation rate, the PHB/PVA blend film with compositional gradient was obtained. The formation of compositional gradient was confirmed by FT-IR microscopy and ATR-FT-IR analysis. The 50%/50% PHB/s-PVA blend film with a nearly ideal compositional gradient, that is, the composition of PHB (or PVA) in the film changing gradually from 100% at one surface to 0% at the other surface of the film was obtained by casting PHB/HFIP solution on to the s-PVA film. Positional dependence of the absorbance of C==O and OH stretching bands along the film thickness direction for the PHB/S-PVA cast films.     

Modification of hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) film via blending with hydrophobic poly(butyl acrylate-co-methyl methacrylate)

A series of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(butyl acrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) [PVA/P(BA-co-MMA)] blend films with different P(BA-co-MMA) content were prepared by the solution casting method. Surface morphologies of the PVA/P(BA-co-MMA) blend films were studied by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties of PVA/P(BA-co-MMA) blend films were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis, tensile tests, and surface contact angle tests. It was revealed that the introduction of P(BA-co-MMA) could affect the properties of the PVA films. The results also showed that, when P(BA-co-MMA) mole content is 3 %, the tensile strength and the surface contact angle of the polymer blend film are 20.4 MPa and 43.5°, respectively, suggesting that the polymer blend film holds both a better mechanical property and a better chemical property.     

脂肪族聚碳酸酯(PPC)与聚乳酸(PLA)共混型生物降解材料的热学性能、力学性能和生物降解性研究

通过溶液浇铸法制备了脂肪族聚碳酸酯与聚乳酸的共混物(PPC/PLA).采用示差热分析(DSC)和热重分析(TG)研究了材料的热性能.采用拉伸力学试验研究了共混物的力学性能.通过土壤悬浊拟环境培养降解实验法和扫描电子显微镜分析(SEM)对共混材料的生物降解性能进行了研究.实验结果表明,随着PPC含量的增加,共混物的拉伸强度和杨氏模量降低,而生物降解速率却显著提高.但是,在一定的降解时间内,某些比例共混物的降解速率比100%PPC还要快.综合分析表明,PPC/PLA是力学性能和降解性能可以互补的共混体系.     

胶原蛋白-葡甘聚糖-壳聚糖(CKCS)共混膜的表面性质

生物材料植入人体后,其生物学性能主要由人体组织和体液等与材料表面的相互作用决定。本文通过对CKCS-2的CKCS-5膜的X-射线光电子能谱分析和静态接触角测定,考察胶原蛋白-葡甘聚糖-壳聚糖共混膜的表面性质,为共混膜在生物医学领域的应用提供理论依据。     

醋酸淀粉/聚乳酸的制备及性能的影响研究

采用自设计的双螺杆结构挤出制备聚乳酸(PLA)/醋酸淀粉(AS)的全生物降解材料,考察材料的AS的含量和取代度对复合材料动态流变性能、机械性能的影响。研究结果表明,AS含量明显影响复合材料的力学性能、复合黏度和储能模量:当AS含量从45%增加到70%,材料的拉伸强度下降,复数黏度和储能模量则提高。随着AS取代度由1.0上升为3.0,复合材料的复数黏度和储能模量下降,拉伸强度由12.0MPa上升为15.5MPa。对复合材料进行电镜扫描分析发现,AS以海岛结构形式分散在PLA的连续相中,取代度2.0的AS与PLA相容性最好,当其质量含量达到70%,材料的拉伸强度仍然不低于10.0MPa,具有较好的机械强度。     

Synergistic effect of nucleation and compatibilization on the polylactide and poly(butylene adipate-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-terephthalate) blend films

Polylactide (PLA) films blended with 10 wt% poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) were prepared by using a twin screw extruder in the presence of the nucleating agent of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and the compatibilizers of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and PLA-grafted-maleic anhydride (PLA-g-MA). The synergistic effect of the nucleation and compatibilization on the properties and crystallization behavior of the PLA/PBAT (PLB) films was explored. The results showed that the addition of TiO₂ significantly enhanced the tensile strength and the impact tensile resistance of the PLB films while slightly decreased its thermal stability. In addition, the compatibilizers of TDI and PLA-g-MA in the system not only affected the crystallinity and cold crystallization process of the PLB films, but also increased the mechanical properties of them due to the improvement of the interfacial interaction between PLA and PBAT revealed by the morphological measurement. The synergistic effects of the nucleating agent and the compatibilizer afforded the blend films with increased tensile strength and impact tensile toughness, improved cold crystallization property and χ _c.     

Effect of multiscale structure on the gas barrier properties of poly(lactic acid)/Ag nanocomposite films

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is the most suitable for biodegradable packaging film because of its excellent integrated property, but the poor gas barrier property is its weakness. In this study, a nanocomposite film based on PLA incorporated with 0‐, 1‐, 3‐, 5‐, 10‐, or 15‐wt% nano‐Ag was developed. Effect of multiscale structure on the barrier properties of PLA/nano‐Ag films was studied. The PLA nanocomposite film with 5‐wt% nano‐Ag had the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) value. Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) value for PLA nanocomposites with 3‐wt% nano‐Ag was found to be the lowest among all the samples. Multiscale structure was demonstrated by the scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform‐infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction measurement, and differential scanning calorimetry results. The crystallinity of the PLA phase increased with the content of nano‐Ag in the PLA composites. The evolution of the PLA phase crystallinity could improve the barrier properties of PLA/nano‐Ag composite films for food packaging applications. From the view of multiscale structure, it is better to achieve a balance among short‐range conformation in the amorphous region, long‐range‐ordered structure, and ordered aggregated structure to improve the barrier properties of PLA/nano‐Ag composite films.     

All-organic polymer blend dielectrics of poly (arylene ether urea) and polyimide: Toward high energy density and high temperature applications

The development of high-performance dielectric films with high energy density and temperature stability is extremely desired for modern electronics and power systems. Herein, a simple and low-cost approach is proposed to fabricate all-organic blend films prepared from poly (arylene ether urea) (PEEU) and polyimide (PI) via solution casting and thermal imidization process. The incorporation of PEEU in PI matrix significantly improved dielectric breakdown strength and dielectric constant of PI. More precisely, blend film with 15 wt% PEEU exhibited highest energy density 5.14 J/cm³ at 495.65 MV/m, with enhanced dielectric constant of 4.73 and very low dissipation factor of 0.299%. Furthermore, the dielectric properties of the PEEU/PI blend displayed wonderful temperature stability in the range of − 50–+ 250°C, and great frequency stability between 10 and 10⁶ Hz. The blend film also exhibited excellent heat resistance and presented valuable potential in thin film capacitors for high voltage direct current system.