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A novel composite coupled hardness with flexibleness—polylactic acid toughen with thermoplastic polyurethane
Author(s) -
Hong Hua,
Wei Jie,
Yuan Yuan,
Chen FangPing,
Wang Jing,
Qu Xue,
Liu ChangSheng
Publication year - 2011
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.33675
Subject(s) - materials science , polylactic acid , thermoplastic polyurethane , composite material , composite number , extrusion , thermoplastic elastomer , thermoplastic , molding (decorative) , izod impact strength test , rheology , brittleness , glass transition , elastomer , polymer , copolymer , ultimate tensile strength
With the aim to modify the brittleness of polylactic acid (PLA), it was firstly melt blended with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) at six different PLA wt % of 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, and 50 compositions. The properties of PLA/TPU composite were characterized by means of electron microscopy, rheological, mechanical and thermal methods. The results showed that the brittle fracture of pure PLA was gradually transformed into ductile fracture with the addition of the TPU elastomer. The notched impact strength of the composite at 10 wt % TPU was over three times higher than that of pure PLA. The composite was found to be a partially miscible system with shifted glass transition temperatures. The molten blend was shear‐thinning fluid and it could be processed by conventional thermoplastic processes such as extrusion and injection molding. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011