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Structure and physical properties of cellulose acetate/poly( L ‐lactide) blends
Author(s) -
Ogata Nobuo,
Tatsushima Toru,
Nakane Koji,
Sasaki Kenji,
Ogihara Takashi
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.10690
Subject(s) - materials science , polymer blend , polymer , hydrolysis , thermal stability , solvent , cellulose acetate , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , thermal decomposition , lactide , composite material , miscibility , cellulose , copolymer , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering
Two biodegradable polymers, poly( L ‐lactide) (PLLA) and cellulose acetate (CA), were solvent‐cast‐blended with chloroform. Macrophase separation took place without a compatibilizer. However, homogeneous blend films were obtained with the addition of tetraisopropyl titanate (TP) as a compatibilizer to the blend. We investigated the reasons for the blends exhibiting homogeneity and measured the physical properties of the blends. We reached the following conclusions: (1) the addition of TP produces small PLLA crystallites in the PLLA/CA blends, (2) the addition of TP reduces the thermal decomposition temperature of PLLA/CA blends, (3) Young's modulus of the blends is almost independent of the blend ratio, and (4) the introduction of TP assists with the hydrolysis of the blends. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1219–1226, 2002