A study on reactive blending of (poly lactic acid) and poly (butylene succinate co adipate)

This research aims to study the blending of Polylactic acid (PLA) and Polybutylene succinate co adipate (PBSA) in order to understand the role of peroxide in free radical reaction on the compatibilization between these two biodegradable polyesters. Various ratios of PLA/PBSA blends with and without reactive agents were prepared in the twin screw extruder. Two types of peroxides, Di (tert-butylperoxyisopropyl) benzene (DTBP) and 2, 5-Dimethyl-2, 5-(t-butylperoxy) hexane (DTBH), were used with various concentrations to compare. From the torques measurement, DTBP was more reactive with PLA and PBSA than DTBH. PLA and PBSA 80:20, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, and 20:80% by weight were melt-blended in a twin screw extruder. The reactive polymer blends were also prepared for the same ratios of the blends with addition of 0.08 and 0.1 phr of DTBP. The mechanical, thermal, rheological, and morphological properties were investigated. The impact strengths of the non-reactive blend increased with the increasing in PBSA content. The optimal impact strength was obtained at 40%wt of PBSA with 0.1 phr of DTBP. Adding 0.08 and 0.1 phr of DTBP led to the co continuous phase morphology of PLA/PBSA blends. The per cent crystallinity of PLA increased when blended with PBSA. PBSA might induce the crystallization of PLA. (paper)