Journal
JOURNAL OF POLYMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Volume 26, Issue 6, Pages 2268-2280Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s10924-017-1121-3
Keywords
Admicellar polymerization; Mechanical properties; Natural rubber; Poly(lactic acid); Toughness
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Funding
- Thailand Research Fund through The Royal Golden Jubilee, Ph.D. Program [PHD/0044/2553]
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Natural rubber (NR) with polycaprolactone (PCL) core-shell (NR-ad-PCL), synthesized by admicellar polymerization, was acted as an impact modifier for poly(lactic acid) (PLA). PLA and NR-ad-PCL were melt-blended using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The morphology of PLA/NR-ad-PCL blends showed good adhesion as smooth boundary around rubber particles and PLA matrix. Only 5 wt% of rubber phase, NR-ad-PCL was more effective than NR to enhance toughness and mechanical properties of PLA. The contents of the NR-ad-PCL were varied from 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. From thermal results, the incorporation of the NR-ad-PCL decreased the glass transition temperature and slightly increased degree of crystallinity of PLA. Mechanical properties of the PLA/NR-ad-PCL blends were investigated by dynamic mechanical analyser, pendulum impact tester and universal testing machine for tension and flexural properties. The increasing NR-ad-PCL contents led to decreasing Young's and storage moduli but increasing loss modulus. Impact strength and elongation at break of the PLA/NR-ad-PCL blends increased with increasing NR-ad-PCL content up to 15 wt% where the maximum impact strength was about three times higher than that of pure PLA and the elongation at break increased to 79%.
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