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Physical Characterization of Coupled Poly(lactic acid)/Starch/Maleic Anhydride Blends Plasticized by Acetyl Triethyl Citrate

✍ Scribed by Jian-Feng Zhang; Xiuzhi Sun


Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Year
2004
Tongue
English
Weight
237 KB
Volume
4
Category
Article
ISSN
1616-5187

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✦ Synopsis


Abstract

Summary: Acetyl triethyl citrate (ATC) was used as a plasticizer for poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/starch blends coupled with maleic anhydride and an initiator of 2,5‐bis(tert‐butylperoxy)‐2,5‐dimethylhexane (L101). Elongation of the blend at break was markedly increased when the ATC content was above the 8% loading level, which is referred to as the percolation threshold. The extended elongation was achieved at the expense of tensile strength and elastic modulus. Thermal transitions of the blend, including the glass transition temperature (T~g~), cold crystallization temperature (T~c~) and melting temperature (T~m~), decreased with ATC content. Thermally induced ATC migration affected the thermal behavior of the plasticized blends and reduced elongation and tensile strength, whereas the elasticity modulus increased. ATC migration increased with ambient temperature, which was controlled by the activation energy of the blend system. Leaching of ATC was slow at room temperature in distilled water, but significant in boiling water. Additionally, the leaching rate was also directly proportional to the ATC content of the blend.

Glass transition temperatures of PLA/starch/MA/L101 blends with various acetryl triethyl citrate contents.

magnified imageGlass transition temperatures of PLA/starch/MA/L101 blends with various acetryl triethyl citrate contents.