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Mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) and wheat starch blends with methylenediphenyl diisocyanate
Author(s) -
Wang Hua,
Sun Xiuzhi,
Seib Paul
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.10457
Subject(s) - ultimate tensile strength , starch , absorption of water , materials science , elongation , composite material , dynamic mechanical analysis , lactic acid , polymer , chemistry , food science , genetics , biology , bacteria
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and wheat starch are biodegradable polymers derived from renewable sources. A previous study showed that thermally blending starch and PLA in the presence of methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) enhanced the mechanical properties of the blends. In this work, blends of PLA with various levels of wheat starch and MDI were hot mixed at 180°C then hot‐pressure molded at 175°C to form test specimens. The blends were characterized for mechanical properties, fracture microstructure, and water absorption. Pure PLA had a tensile strength of 62.7 MPa and elongation of 6.5%. The blend with 45% wheat starch and 0.5 wt % MDI gave the highest tensile strength of about 68 MPa with about 5.1% elongation. The blend with 20% starch and 0.5 wt % MDI had the lowest tensile strength of about 58 MPa with about 5.6% elongation. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that storage modulus increased and tan δ decreased as starch level increased, but almost leveled off when starch level reached 45% or higher. Water absorption of the blends increased significantly with starch content. Yet the blend, if water proofed on its surface, has potential for short‐term disposable applications. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 1257–1262, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10457