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Thermal and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) modified by poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate through reactive blending

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Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was modified using a simple reactive blending method, where a low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate (PEGA) was blended with PLA in the presence of a radical initiator. To examine the initiation effect on the modification of PLA, various amounts of radical initiator (between 0 and 1.5 %) were added to the PLA/PEG acrylate mixture. The modified PLAs (PLMs) were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and solvent extraction. The properties of the PLMs were investigated using tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and hydrolytic degradable analysis. The PEGA significantly influenced the molecular structure and properties of the modified PLA. The glass transition temperature of the PLMs was decreased by approximately 15 °C (for PLM15) from 59.3 °C of PLA, whereas their toughness increased considerably compared to PLA. In addition, PEG acrylate facilitates hydrolytic degradation, even after radical polymerization by reactive blending.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, Korea (Acceleration Research Program (2009-0078791)); Pioneer Research Center Program (2010-0019308/2010-0019482) and BK 21 Plus Program (21A2013800002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Institute of Footwear and Leather Technology, Busan, 614-100, Republic of Korea

    Kyung-Man Choi, Sung-Wook Lim, Myeon-Cheon Choi, Young-Min Kim & Dong-Hun Han

  2. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Republic of Korea

    Kyung-Man Choi, Sung-Wook Lim & Chang-Sik Ha

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  1. Kyung-Man Choi
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  2. Sung-Wook Lim
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Correspondence to Chang-Sik Ha.

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Choi, KM., Lim, SW., Choi, MC. et al. Thermal and mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) modified by poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate through reactive blending. Polym. Bull. 71, 3305–3321 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-014-1251-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-014-1251-x

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