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Conductivity and mechanical properties of carbon black-reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA/CB) composites

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Abstract

The effects of carbon black (CB) content on the mechanical properties, hydrophobicity, electrical conductivity, morphology, and thermodynamic properties of the poly(lactic acid) (PLA/CB) composites were studied. The results showed that adding an appropriate amount of CB improved both the mechanical properties and hydrophobicity of PLA, but an excessive addition of CB reduced the mechanical properties of PLA/CB composites. The conductivity test results showed that when CB content was exceeded than12 wt%, there was no significant changes. The results of analyzing the barrier performance showed that less CB content helped to extend the path of water molecules; thus, the water barrier performance was slightly improved. However, CB and PLA had no chemical bonding reaction, thus, the oxygen permeability was greatly increased with increase of the CB content. The XRD results showed that an appropriate amount of CB could improve the crystallinity of PLA. It was shown by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) inspection that when the filler content increased from 4 to 12 wt%, the cross-sections of the PLA/CB composites became wavy and coarser, indicating that the morphology of the PLA/CB composites was gradually changed and became more and more brittle. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal stability of PLA could be improved when CB ≤ 8 wt%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed that the glass transition temperature of PLA/CB composites was slightly higher than that of the pure PLA, whereas the melting temperature was slightly lower than that of the pure PLA. This new composite material with optimized CB content showed excellent properties.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Wuliangye Group Co. Ltd. [CXY2019ZR001]; Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program [2019JDRC0029]; Zigong City Science and Technology [2017XC16; 2019CXRC01; 2022; 2020YGJC13]; Opening Project of Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province [2017CL03; 2019CL05; 2018CL08; 2018CL07; 2016CL10; 2014CL10; 2020CL19]; Opening Project of Sichuan Province, the Foundation of Introduced Talent of Sichuan University of Science and Engineering [2017RCL31; 2017RCL36; 2017RCL16; 2019RC05; 2019RC07; 2014RC31; 2014RC16; 201510622082; 2020RC16]; the Opening Project of Key Laboratories of Fine Chemicals and Surfactants in Sichuan Provincial Universities [2020JXY04]. Appreciation is also extended to the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Apex Nanotek Co. Ltd.; Ratchadapisek Sompote Fund for Postoctoral Fellowship (Chulalongkon University).

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  1. Jipeng Guo and Chi-Hui Tsou authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, 643000, China

    Jipeng Guo, Chi-Hui Tsou, Yongqi Yu, Xuemei Zhang, Zhujun Chen, Tao Yang, Feifan Ge, Pan Liu & Manuel Reyes De Guzman

  2. Sichuan Golden-Elephant Sincerity Chemical Co. Ltd, Meishan, 620010, China

    Chi-Hui Tsou & Manuel Reyes De Guzman

  3. Sichuan Zhixiangyi Technology Co. Ltd, Chengdu, 610051, China

    Chi-Hui Tsou & Manuel Reyes De Guzman

  4. Department of Applied Cosmetology, Kao Yuan University, Kaohsiung County, 82101, Taiwan (ROC)

    Chin-San Wu

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  1. Jipeng Guo
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Guo, J., Tsou, CH., Yu, Y. et al. Conductivity and mechanical properties of carbon black-reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA/CB) composites. Iran Polym J 30, 1251–1262 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-021-00973-2

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