Thermal,mechanical and morphological analysis of poly(ε‐caprolactone), cellulose acetate and their blends

Poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA) and their blends were characterized by their tensile strength, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and optical microscopy (OM). The compatibility of the blends was investigated and the OM results showed that CA tended to disperse as discrete particles in PCL. Thermal analysis showed the characteristic melting temperature peaks for PCL and CA in all blends, indicating that the compounds were immiscible. The addition of CA to PCL increased slightly the crystallinity of PCL, decreased the elongation at yield and the tensile strength up to 40/60 PCL/CA (w/w), which suggested incompatibility between the polymers. Together, these results indicate the absence of a strong chemical interaction between the two polymers. In agreement with this, the addition of CA to blends with PCL increased Young's modulus. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.