Poly(Lactic Acid)/Poly(Butylene Succinate) Blends Filled with Epoxy Functionalised Polymeric Chain Extender
In this work, biodegradable plastics were produced from different poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/ poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) blend ratios in the presence of a fix loading (1 phr) of a commercial epoxy functionalised polymeric chain extender (Joncryl ADR-4300-S). The effects of blend ratio and chain extender on the tensile properties, thermal stability and morphology were investigated by the tensile testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results show that the incorporation of PBS and Joncryl into PLA apparently reduced the tensile strength and tensile modulus, but increased the elongation at break of the blends in a dose-dependent manner. However, their blends provide interesting materials for industrial packaging applications, due to their enhanced ductility by decreasing the tensile modulus and increasing the elongation at break. TGA analysis showed that thermal stability of the blends was lower than that of the pure PLA and PBS. Moreover, the chain-extended products exhibit two stages of thermal decomposition, the first was due to the degradation of PBS, and the second was due to the degradation of PLA.