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Reactive blending of polylactic acid/polyethylene glycol toward biodegradable film

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Abstract

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was first modified with bis(trimethoxysilylpropyl) amine as an effective coupling agent. Different compositions of PEG and polylactic acid (PLA) were then prepared through melt blending. The silane modification of PEG was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. The SEM micrographs of different PEG/PLA compositions showed rather homogenous single phase morphology in the compositions with silane-modified PEG. The efficacy of silane-modified PEG maybe due to interfacial compatibilization of PLA and the silane-modified PEG. According to TGA and DSC thermograms, the PEG loading into PLA resulted in somewhat higher thermal stability and increase in the degree of crystallinity of up to 52%. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis showed lower glass transition temperatures and higher toughness for all the silane-modified PEG/PLA compositions than that of the neat PLA. The biodegradation behavior of silane-modified PEG/PLA compositions increased linearly as evidenced by material weight loss either in water absorption or fungi associated destruction tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adhesive and Resin Department, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI), P.O. Box 14965-115, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Salimi

  2. Department of Polymer Processing, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI), P.O. Box 14965-115, Tehran, Iran

    Shervin Ahmadi, Mona Faramarzi & Jalal Faghihi

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  1. Ali Salimi
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  2. Shervin Ahmadi
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The authors declare that the research leading to these results received funding from Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute under grant agreement No 35794115.

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Salimi, A., Ahmadi, S., Faramarzi, M. et al. Reactive blending of polylactic acid/polyethylene glycol toward biodegradable film. Macromol. Res. 31, 873–881 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13233-023-00174-1

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