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Mechanical, morphological, and solid-state viscoelastic responses of poly(lactic acid)/ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate super-tough blend reinforced with halloysite nanotubes

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Abstract

In this work, ternary nanocomposites of poly(lactic acid)/ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate (PLA/EVA, 70:30) containing varying concentrations (0.4–9.1 wt%) of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were prepared through melt compounding. Enhanced tensile modulus and impact strength demonstrated the strengthening and toughening effects of halloysite in the nanocomposites, simultaneously. The impact-fractured surface morphologies and halloysite-induced morphological changes of the nanocomposites were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. FT-IR investigation revealed interactions between HNT and PLA. Glass transition behavior of the nanocomposites, as shown by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), presents strong evidence in favor of phase interaction and the reinforcing effect of halloysite. Enhanced tensile strength and elongation-at-break demonstrated the toughening effect of halloysite.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and University Grant commission for providing research facilities and financial assistance to one of the authors (Rajendra Kumar Singla).

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  1. Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Rajendra Kumar Singla, Saurindra N. Maiti & Anup K. Ghosh

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  1. Rajendra Kumar Singla
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  2. Saurindra N. Maiti
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Correspondence to Saurindra N. Maiti.

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Singla, R.K., Maiti, S.N. & Ghosh, A.K. Mechanical, morphological, and solid-state viscoelastic responses of poly(lactic acid)/ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate super-tough blend reinforced with halloysite nanotubes. J Mater Sci 51, 10278–10292 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-0255-3

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