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Physical ageing and molecular mobility in PLA blends and composites

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Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blends and composites were prepared from thermoplastic starch, poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephtalate), polycarbonate, wood flour and CaSO4 in a wide range of compositions. The thermal transitions of PLA were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The detailed analysis of the transitions of PLA/thermoplastic starch blends indicated that they all are determined by the molecular mobility of PLA chains. Blending changes molecular mobility, and thus it often decreases glass transition temperature and modifies the extent of enthalpy relaxation. All other transitions and characteristics, i.e. cold crystallization, melting and the corresponding enthalpies, change accordingly. Increased molecular mobility accelerates also the physical ageing of the polymer. The interaction between PLA and the various components used for modification changed in a wide range, but no direct correlation was found between the strength of interaction and molecular mobility.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Zsolt László for his help in the determination of the particle characteristics of wood. The research on heterogeneous polymer systems was financed by the National Scientific Research Fund of Hungary (OTKA Grant No. K 101124) and by the Forbioplast FP7 project of EU (212239); we appreciate the support very much.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plastics and Rubber Technology, Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, P.O. Box 91, Budapest, 1521, Hungary

    Péter Müller, Balázs Imre, József Bere, János Móczó & Béla Pukánszky

  2. Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 286, Budapest, 1519, Hungary

    Péter Müller, Balázs Imre, József Bere, János Móczó & Béla Pukánszky

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  1. Péter Müller
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Correspondence to János Móczó.

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Müller, P., Imre, B., Bere, J. et al. Physical ageing and molecular mobility in PLA blends and composites. J Therm Anal Calorim 122, 1423–1433 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4831-6

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