A Change of Phase Morphology in Poly Lactic Acid/Poly Methyl Methacrylate Blends Induced by Graphene Nano Sheets

Blending of polymeric materials is an effective way to obtain materials with specific properties, since the properties of these multiphase polymeric materials are not only affected by the properties of the component polymers but also by the morphology formed. The research described here was focused on investigation of the morphology of polymer blends of poly lactic acid (PLA) and poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and the PLA/PMMA blends containing various amounts of graphene nano plates, (GNP). In this work, the blends were prepared by solution casting and the morphologies of these nano filled polymer blends were studied. By adding graphene nano plates into the PLA/PMMA blends, the morphology changed for all compositions. It was very interesting to note that the GNP were found to be preferentially located in one of the polymer phases, different for the different loadings, and its location determined the final morphology of the PLA/PMMA blends. The morphology of the blends was observed by SEM and the composition-morphology dependence responses were investigated using a Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy technique.