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MFC-structured biodegradable poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephatalate) blends with improved mechanical and barrier properties

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Abstract

Both polylactide (PLA) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) are biodegradable polymers. They are thermoplastics which can be processed using conventional polymer processing methods. In this study, microfibrillar-reinforced composites (MFC) based on PLA/PBAT (PLA/Ecoflex®) blends in different weight ratios were prepared under industry-relevant conditions by melt extrusion followed by continuous cold drawing of the extrudates. Strip-like specimens (films) and plates (laminates) of the drawn blends were prepared by compression molding (CM) at processing temperature above the melting temperature (T m) of PBAT, but below T m of PLA. SEM and WAXS observations show that the extruded blend components are isotropic, but become highly oriented after drawing, and they are converted into MFC-structured polymer–polymer composites after CM. An effect of PLA microfibrils on the non-isothermal crystallization of the Ecoflex during cooling from the melt, associated with the formation of crystalline regions of the matrix around the fibrils, was observed. Depending on the blend composition, the compression-molded samples possess a 3- to 7-time higher tensile strength as well as a 15–30 higher modulus than the neat Ecoflex. In addition, the MFC-structured plates exhibited superior barrier properties compared to the neat Ecoflex, e.g., the oxygen permeability decreased by up to 5 times.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Germany DAAD Foundation (Project 54391873), as well as of the Bulgarian Foundation for Research and Science, and Uta Reuter (Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V.) for TEM support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory on Polymers, Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University, 1 J. Boucher Bl., 1126, Sofia, Bulgaria

    M. Evstatiev & S. Simeonova

  2. Institute for Composite Materials (IVW GmbH), Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin Schroedinger Str. 58, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    K. Friedrich & X.-Q. Pei

  3. College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    K. Friedrich

  4. Leibniz-Institute for Polymer Research (IPF Dresden e.V.), Dresden, Germany

    P. Formanek

Authors
  1. M. Evstatiev
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  2. S. Simeonova
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  3. K. Friedrich
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  4. X.-Q. Pei
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  5. P. Formanek
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Correspondence to X.-Q. Pei.

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Evstatiev, M., Simeonova, S., Friedrich, K. et al. MFC-structured biodegradable poly(l-lactide)/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephatalate) blends with improved mechanical and barrier properties. J Mater Sci 48, 6312–6330 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7431-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7431-5

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