Improvement of Poly(Lactic Acid) Properties by Ethylene-Octene Copolymer and Organoclay

2020 ◽  
Vol 1009 ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant ◽  
Paweena Hanjai ◽  
Sanya Khongaio ◽  
Manop Phankokkruad

The work studied the morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC) blends before and after adding the montmorillonite clay surface modified with 25-30% of octadecylamine (clay-ODA). The PLA/EOC blends and composites were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer. The EOC contents were 5, 10, 20, 30 wt% and clay-ODA contents were 1 and 3 phr. The morphology analysis showed that the addition of clay-ODA could improve the miscibility of PLA and EOC phases due to the domain size of dispersed EOC phase decreased with increasing clay-ODA content. X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of intercalated/exfoliated structure in PLA/clay-ODA and PLA blend composites. The mechanical properties showed that the impact strength of PLA/EOC blends dramatically increased with increasing EOC content up to 10 wt%. The strain at break of PLA blends increased with increasing EOC content. Moreover, the incorporation of clay-ODA increased significantly Young’s modulus of PLA and PLA/EOC blends with increasing clay-ODA content. The thermal stability of PLA/EOC blends improved with the addition of a small amount of clay-ODA.

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1094-1108
Author(s):  
Thanh Chi Nguyen ◽  
Chaiwat Ruksakulpiwat ◽  
Yupaporn Ruksakulpiwat

Biocomposites of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) extracted from cassava pulp were successfully prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer. CNFs were prepared from cassava pulp by submitting to alkali hydrolysis, bleaching treatment, and acid hydrolysis. The compatibility between CNFs and PLA matrix was improved using glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) grafted PLA (PLA-g-GMA) as an effective compatibilizer. Higher elongation at break and impact strength of PLA/PLA-g-GMA/CNFs biocomposites was achieved compared to that of neat PLA. PLA-g-GMA shows a strong effect on the crystallization behavior of the biocomposites. The PLA/PLA-g-GMA/CNFs biocomposites induce cold crystallization to take place at lower temperature. Higher degree of crystallinity of PLA/PLA-g-GMA/CNFs biocomposites was obtained compared to PLA/CNFs biocomposites. The mechanical and thermal properties of PLA/CNFs biocomposites at various ratios were investigated. With increasing CNFs contents, the modulus of the biocomposites increases. Thermal stability of PLA/CNFs and PLA/PLA-g-GMA/CNFs biocomposites did not change significantly compared to that of neat PLA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 837 ◽  
pp. 174-180
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant ◽  
Attachai Sriwattana ◽  
Kulaya Yaisoon ◽  
Manop Phankokkruad

This work studied the morphology, mechanical and thermal properties of poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC) (80/20) blends with different organoclay types. Herein, EOC was introduced to toughening PLA by melt blending and organoclay was used to improve compatibility and tensile properties of the blends. The two organoclay types were nanoclay surface modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane 0.5-5 wt% and octadecylamine 15-35% (Clay-ASO) and nanoclay surface modified with dimethyl dialkyl (C14-C18) amine 35-45 wt% (Clay-DDA). The organoclay contents were 3, 5 and 7 phr. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation results revealed PLA/EOC blends demonstrated a two-phase separation of dispersed EOC phase and PLA matrix phase. The addition of organoclay significantly improved the compatibility between PLA and EOC phases due to EOC droplet size decreased dominantly in PLA matrix, so organoclay could act as an effective compatibilizer. The incorporation of organoclay increased significantly tensile strength of PLA/EOC/organoclay composites while Young’s modulus increased with 5 phr of organoclay. The thermal stability of PLA/EOC blends did not change when compared with neat PLA, and when added Clay-ASO in the blends could improve the thermal stability of the PLA/EOC blends.


2018 ◽  
Vol 916 ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant ◽  
Nisarat Wimonsupakit ◽  
Sasithorn Kuhaudomlap

The objective of this study is to fabricate the polyoxymethylene (POM)/microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/MCC composites, and to compare the effect of MCC on the morphology and mechanical properties of POM and PLA. The polymer composites were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer and molded by compression molding. The MCC concentrations were 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 10% by weight. From scanning electron microscopy study observes the fracture surface of POM and PLA composites is much rough and the roughness increases with increasing MCC content. This observation indicates MCC induces the ductile fracture characteristic of POM and PLA. The addition of MCC can improve the impact strength of PLA composite and improve Young’s modulus of both POM and PLA composites. While the tensile strength and strain at break decrease after adding MCC. In summary, MCC can enhance the morphology and mechanical properties of PLA composites is better than POM composites.


2019 ◽  
Vol 953 ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant ◽  
Attachai Sriwattana ◽  
Kulaya Yaisoon ◽  
Manop Phankokkruad

The effects of the montmorillonite clay surface modified with 0.5-5 wt% aminopropyltriethoxysilane and 15-35% octadecylamine (Clay-APTSO) on morphology, mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC)/Clay-APTSO composites were investigated. The blends of PLA/EOC with and without Clay-APTSO were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer. Scanning electron microscopy analysis observed the morphology of PLA/EOC blends demonstrated a phase separation of minor phase and matrix phase. The addition of Clay-APTSO in PLA/EOC blends showed significant decreased in droplet size of dispersed EOC phase, thus, Clay-APTSO acted as an effective compatibilizer in the PLA/EOC blends. The results of tensile properties found the decrease of Young’s modulus of PLA when added EOC due to the low modulus and flexibility of EOC. While the incorporation of Clay-APTSO increased significantly Young’s modulus of PLA/EOC blends at low EOC and Clay-APTSO content. The strain at break of the blends increased with the increase of EOC loading, this indicated the presence of EOC enhanced the elongation at break of PLA, while the addition Clay-APTSO reduced the strain at break of PLA/EOC blends. The tensile strength of all blend compositions improved when added Clay-APTSO and the tensile strength showed the highest value at 3 phr of Clay-APTSO. The thermal stability of PLA/EOC blends did not change when compared with neat PLA, and when added Clay-APTSO in the blends could improve the thermal stability of the PLA/EOC blends.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5346
Author(s):  
Daniel Kaczor ◽  
Kacper Fiedurek ◽  
Krzysztof Bajer ◽  
Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor ◽  
Grzegorz Domek ◽  
...  

To assess the impact of graphite fillers on the thermal processing of graphite/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites, a series of the composite samples with different graphite of industrial grade as fillers was prepared by melt mixing. The average size of the graphite grains ranged between 100 µm and 6 µm. For comparative purposes, one of the carbon fillers was expandable graphite. Composites were examined by SEM, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. As revealed by thermogravimetric (TG) analyses, graphite filler slightly lowered the temperature of thermal decomposition of the PLA matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests showed that the room temperature crystallinity of the polymer matrix is strongly affected by the graphite filler. The crystallinity of the composites determined from the second heating cycle reached values close to 50%, while these values are close to zero for the neat polymer. The addition of graphite to PLA caused a slight reduction in the oxidation induction time (OIT). The melt flow rate (MFR) of the graphite/PLA composites was lower than the original PLA due to an increase in flow resistance associated with the high crystallinity of the polymer matrix. Expandable graphite did not cause changes in the structure of the polymer matrix during thermal treatment. The crystallinity of the composite with this filler did not increase after first heating and was close to the neat PLA MFR value, which was extremely high due to the low crystallinity of the PLA matrix and delamination of the filler at elevated temperature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2080 (1) ◽  
pp. 012003
Author(s):  
K.K. Nitiyah ◽  
Luqman Musa ◽  
M.S.M. Rasidi ◽  
Shayfull Zamree Abd Rahim ◽  
Rozyanty Rahman ◽  
...  

Abstract A biodegradable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) blend is developed by blending poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and natural rubber (NR) or epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and it is a sustainable substitution in recent years for synthetic polymers. PLA is high in mechanical strength and compostable, but it is highly stiff and brittle. The incorporation of NR or ENR to PLA increases the impact strength and toughness of PLA. However, the disparity in polarity between PLA and elastomer phase like NR and ENR results in TPE blend being incompatible. Hence, compatibilization is essential to improve its polarity and develop interactions. Compatibilizer that composed of two different polymer is known is graft compatibilizer with the aid of grafting agent. The graft compatibilizers are divided into two categories. The first type is made up of one polymer and grafting agent and, the other one is composed of two polymer groups and grafting agent. These two types of graft compatibilizer can be prepared via two different method such as direct melt blending and solution. Apart from this, the TPE blend is produced via the melt blending technique with mixing machines such as internal mixer and extruder. This article has reviewed the preparation of the graft compatibilizer and blending technique of TPE. Based on the findings, the graft compatibilizers has a significant role in improving miscibility and compatibility across blend composed of different phase.


2017 ◽  
Vol 753 ◽  
pp. 13-17
Author(s):  
Chi Nguyen Thanh ◽  
Ruksakulpiwat Chaiwat ◽  
Ruksakulpiwat Yupaporn

Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were used as biobased fillers to prepare poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based biocomposites. Cellulose nanofibers were extracted from cassava pulp (CP) by acid hydrolysis method. Before submitted to acid treatment, CP was pre-treated by alkali and bleaching treatments. The biocomposites were prepared by melt mixing, followed by hot melt pressing. In order to improve the compatibility of CNFs with PLA matrix, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) grafted poly (lactic acid) (PLA-g-GMA) was used as a compatibilizer. PLA-g-GMA was prepared by grafting of GMA onto PLA chain via melt mixing using an internal mixer. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrograph shows that most nanofibers with the diameter in the range of 10-30 nm and immeasurable length were obtained. The appearance of two new peaks at 49.07 and 44.71 ppm in the carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectrum of PLA-g-GMA, which represent the carbons of the epoxy group of GMA, confirms that GMA was successfully grafted onto PLA chain. The morphology of biocomposites, characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), reveals that without using PLA-g-GMA, the poor dispersion of CNFs in PLA matrix was observed. In contrast to that, with using PLA-g-GMA, the dispersion of CNFs in PLA matrix was improved. Moreover, the impact strength results show that by incorporating 1.0 wt% CNFs into PLA matrix and using PLA-g-GMA as a compatibilizer, the impact strength of biocomposites was slightly enhanced compared to that of pure PLA.


2015 ◽  
Vol 749 ◽  
pp. 304-307
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant

The effects of the montmorillonite clay surface modified with 25-30 wt% octadecylamine (clay) on mechanical and morphological properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/ ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC)/clay composites were investigated. The composites of blends of PMMA/EOC with clay were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer. The results showed that the Young’s modulus of the composites increased with increasing clay content. The ratio of PMMA and EOC was 80/20 by weight and the clay content was 3 and 5 phr. The results showed Young’s modulus of the composites increased with increasing clay content. While the impact strength, tensile strength and percent strain at break of the composites decreased with increasing clay content. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the droplet of dispersed EOC phase in PMMA matrix was changed to the elongated structure after adding clay.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1076
Author(s):  
Masrat Rasheed ◽  
Mohammad Jawaid ◽  
Bisma Parveez

The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from bamboo fiber on the properties of poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) composites fabricated by melt mixing at 175 °C and then hot pressing at 180 °C. PBS and CNC (0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5 wt.%) were added to improvise the properties of PLA. The morphological, physiochemical and crystallinity properties of nanocomposites were analysed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), respectively. The thermal and tensile properties were analysed by thermogravimetic analysis (TGA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Universal testing machine (UTM). PLA-PBS blend shows homogeneous morphology while the composite shows rod-like CNC particles, which are embedded in the polymer matrix. The uniform distribution of CNC particles in the nanocomposites improves their thermal stability, tensile strength and tensile modulus up to 1 wt.%; however, their elongation at break decreases. Thus, CNC addition in PLA-PBS matrix improves structural and thermal properties of the composite. The composite, thus developed, using CNC (a natural fiber) and PLA-PBS (biodegradable polymers) could be of immense importance as they could allow complete degradation in soil, making it a potential alternative material to existing packaging materials in the market that could be environment friendly.


2016 ◽  
Vol 835 ◽  
pp. 284-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirirat Wacharawichanant ◽  
Chawisa Wisuttrakarn ◽  
Kasana Chomphunoi

The effects of the montmorillonite clay surface modified with 25-30 wt% of methyl dihydroxyethyl hydrogenated tallow ammonium (Clay-MHA) on morphology and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber copolymer (NBR)/Clay-MHA composites were investigated. The composites of blends of PLA/NBR with Clay-MHA were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer and molded by compression molding. The ratio of PLA and NBR was 80/20 by weight and the Clay-MHA content was 1, 3, 5 and 7 phr. The results showed Young’s modulus and stress at break of the composites increased with increasing Clay-MHA content. While the tensile strength and strain at break of the composites decreased with increasing Clay-MHA content. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the addition of Clay-MHA could improve the miscibility of PLA and NBR to be homogeneous blends and the pore in polymer blends was disappeared.


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