Influence of extrusion screw speed on the properties of halloysite nanotube impregnated polylactic acid nanocomposites

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaitra Venkatesh ◽  
Yuanyuan Chen ◽  
Zhi Cao ◽  
Shane Brennan ◽  
Ian Major ◽  
...  

Abstract Poly (lactic acid)/halloysite nanotube (PLA/HNT) nanocomposites have been studied extensively over the past few years owing to the interesting properties of the polymer, PLA, and the nanoclay, HNT, individually and as composites. In this paper, the influence of the screw speed during extrusion was investigated and was found to have a significant impact on the mechanical and thermal performance of the extruded PLA/HNT nanocomposites. To determine the effect of screw speed on PLA/HNT nanocomposites, 5 and 10 wt% of HNTs were blended into the PLA matrix through compounding at screw speeds of 40, 80, and 140 rpm. Virgin PLA was compounded for comparison. The resultant polymer melt was quench cooled onto a calendar system to produce composite films which were assessed for mechanical, thermal, chemical, and surface properties. Results illustrate that in comparison to 40 and 80 rpm, the virgin PLA when compounded at 140 rpm, indicated a significant increase in the mechanical properties. The PLA/HNT 5 wt% nanocomposite compounded at 140 rpm showed significant improvement in the dispersion of HNTs in the PLA matrix which in turn enhanced the mechanical and thermal properties. This can be attributed to the increased melt shear at higher screw speeds.

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Přemysl Menčík ◽  
Radek Přikryl ◽  
Ivana Stehnová ◽  
Veronika Melčová ◽  
Soňa Kontárová ◽  
...  

This paper explores the influence of selected commercial plasticizers structure, which are based on esters of citric acid, on mechanical and thermal properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid)/Plasticizer biodegradable blends. These plasticizers were first tested with respect to their miscibility with Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid) (PHB/PLA) blends using a kneading machine. PHB/PLA/plasticizer blends in the weight ratio (wt %) of 60/25/15 were then prepared by single screw and corotating meshing twin screw extruders in the form of filament for further three-dimensional (3D) printing. Mechanical, thermal properties, and shape stability (warping effect) of 3D printed products can be improved just by the addition of appropriate plasticizer to polymeric blend. The goal was to create new types of eco-friendly PHB/PLA/plasticizers blends and to highly improve the poor mechanical properties of neat PHB/PLA blends (with majority of PHB) by adding appropriate plasticizer. Mechanical properties of plasticized blends were then determined by the tensile test of 3D printed test samples (dogbones), as well as filaments. Measured elongation at break rapidly enhanced from 21% for neat non-plasticized PHB/PLA blends (reference) to 328% for best plasticized blends in the form of filament, and from 5% (reference) to 187% for plasticized blends in the form of printed dogbones. The plasticizing effect on blends was confirmed by Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The study of morphology was performed by the Scanning Electron Microscopy. Significant problem of plasticized blends used to be also plasticizer migration, therefore the diffusion of plasticizers from the blends after 15 days of exposition to 110 °C in the drying oven was investigated as their measured weight loss. Almost all of the used plasticizers showed meaningful positive softening effects, but the diffusion of plasticizers at 110 °C exposition was quite extensive. The determination of the degree of disintegration of selected plasticized blend when exposed to a laboratory-scale composting environment was executed to roughly check the “biodegradability”.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 655-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaihong Wu ◽  
Shuqiang Liu ◽  
Xiongying Wu ◽  
Xuemei Ding

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) derived from renewable crops is a promising substitute for petroleum-based products. Although PLA exhibits positive features, it also possesses drawbacks, such as brittleness, which hinder its extension in specific applications. In this study, lactide (LA) was used to graft carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to reinforce PLA. Under catalysis, LA was polymerized into PLA through ring-opening polymerization and simultaneously was grafted onto CNTs to obtain CNTs modified by LA (LA/CNTs). And the modified CNTs were used to prepare PLA composite films (LA/CNTs/PLA). Analysis of the Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) of the modified CNTs indicated that LA was grafted with the nanotubes. The scanning electron microscopy images showed that the modified CNTs were compatible and homogeneously dispersed in the PLA matrix. The excellent dispersibility and compatibility of the CNTs led to good interfacial adhesion, which directly enhanced the mechanical properties of PLA. The addition of CNTs also improved the thermal properties of PLA. This research aims to ameliorate the mechanical and thermal properties of PLA and provides basis for flexible fabrication of bio-based PLA materials for a wide range of applications.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eda Acik ◽  
Ulku Yilmazer

ABSTRACTTernary nanocomposites of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) were produced by melt blending with two types of elastomers and five types of organoclays to obtain improved mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus and impact strength. One of the elastomers is a random copolymer of ethylene and glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) and the other one is a random terpolymer of ethylene-butyl acrylate-maleic anhydride (E-BA-MAH). Organically modified montmorillonites (OMMT) were utilized as nanofillers. XRD, DSC, tensile and impact tests were done on the injection molded samples. FTIR, SEM and TEM analyses are still in progress. As preliminary results, thermal analysis showed that the addition of compatibilizers and organoclays does not have a distinct effect on the thermal properties of the composites, and no evidence of nucleation activity of compatibilizers or organoclays was found. For all types of organoclays, the nanocomposites produced with E-GMA exhibited better mechanical properties in comparison to nanocomposites containing E-BA-MAH, especially for the impact strength.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 4736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soňa Kontárová ◽  
Radek Přikryl ◽  
Veronika Melčová ◽  
Přemysl Menčík ◽  
Matyáš Horálek ◽  
...  

This paper investigates the effect of plasticizer structure on especially the printability and mechanical and thermal properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-poly(lactic acid)-plasticizer biodegradable blends. Three plasticizers, acetyl tris(2-ethylhexyl) citrate, tris(2-ethylhexyl) citrate, and poly(ethylene glycol)bis(2-ethylhexanoate), were first checked whether they were miscible with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-poly(lactic acid) (PHB-PLA) blends using a kneading machine. PHB-PLA-plasticizer blends of 60-25-15 (wt.%) were then prepared using a corotating meshing twin-screw extruder, and a single screw extruder was used for filament preparation for further three-dimensional (3D) fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing. These innovative eco-friendly PHB-PLA-plasticizer blends were created with a majority of PHB, and therefore, poor mechanical properties and thermal properties of neat PHB-PLA blends were improved by adding appropriate plasticizer. The plasticizer also influences the printability of blends, which was investigated, based on our new specific printability tests developed for the optimization of printing conditions (especially printing temperature). Three-dimensional printed test samples were used for heat deflection temperature measurements and Charpy and tensile-impact tests. Plasticizer migration was also investigated. The macrostructure of 3D printed samples was observed using an optical microscope to check the printing quality and printing conditions. Tensile tests of 3D printed samples (dogbones), as well as extruded filaments, showed that measured elongation at break raised, from 21% for non-plasticized PHB-PLA reference blends to 84% for some plasticized blends in the form of filaments and from 10% (reference) to 32% for plasticized blends in the form of printed dogbones. Measurements of thermal properties (using modulated differential scanning calorimetry and oscillation rheometry) also confirmed the plasticizing effect on blends. The thermal and mechanical properties of PHB-PLA blends were improved by the addition of appropriate plasticizer. In contrast, the printability of the PHB-PLA reference seems to be slightly better than the printability of the plasticized blends.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Chi ◽  
Wenhui Li ◽  
Chunli Fan ◽  
Cheng Zhang ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
...  

The microstructure, thermal properties, mechanical properties and oxygen and water vapor barrier properties of a poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/nano-TiO2 composite film before and after high pressure treatment were studied. Structural analysis showed that the functional group structure of the high pressure treated composite film did not change. It was found that the high pressure treatment did not form new chemical bonds between the nanoparticles and the PLA. The micro-section of the composite film after high pressure treatment became very rough, and the structure was depressed. Through the analysis of thermal and mechanical properties, high pressure treatment can not only increase the strength and stiffness of the composite film, but also increase the crystallinity of the composite film. Through the analysis of barrier properties, it is found that the barrier properties of composite films after high pressure treatment were been improved by the applied high pressure treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 981 ◽  
pp. 138-143
Author(s):  
Esa N. Shohih ◽  
Mujtahid Kaavessina ◽  
Henry A. S. Lomi ◽  
Betha P. Pratiwi ◽  
Sperisa Distantina ◽  
...  

Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) have attracted great attention of researchers due to their enhanced properties such as an adjustable electrical conductivity, good processability, good mechanical and thermal properties, etc. CPCs had many potencies for wider application in electronic devices. Poly (lactic acid) or PLA is one of the interesting polymers used in the developing of these new important materials. PLA properties are comparable to the synthetic petroleum-based polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), etc. This research focuses on studying the rheological and thermal properties of PLA/micro-graphite as a conductive polymer composite which adjustable its electrical conductivity. In this study, the PLA/micro-graphite was prepared through solvent blending method using chloroform. The micro-graphite composition was varied from 0%, 5%, and 10 % (w/w) with different stirring time (30 and 60 minutes) and then, poured in glass mould. In the melt rheology study, the frequency sweep test showed that the complex viscosity (|η*|) of the bio-composite increased with the micro-graphite loading. The same tendency was also found in thermal property and stability. The melting temperature and thermal degradation were slightly increasing. The crystallinity of PLA was influenced by the presence of micro-graphite. In this solvent blending method, the homogeneous distribution of micro-graphite in the bio-composite required at least 60 minutes (stirred at 650 rpm and 60 °C).


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