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Oxygen‐barrier properties of poly(lactic acid)/poly(vinyl acetate‐ co ‐vinyl alcohol) blends as biodegradable films
Author(s) -
Razavi S. M.,
Dadbin Susan,
Frounchi Masoud
Publication year - 2012
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.36376
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , oxygen permeability , vinyl acetate , copolymer , lactic acid , materials science , polymer chemistry , hydrolysis , nuclear chemistry , oxygen , chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer , composite material , biology , bacteria , genetics
The oxygen‐barrier properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(vinyl acetate‐ co ‐vinyl alcohol) [P(VAc‐ co ‐VA)] were investigated. P(VAc‐ co ‐VA)s with vinyl alcohol (VA) contents of 5, 10, and 15 mol % were prepared with the acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis of poly(vinyl acetate). The obtained copolymers with various contents of VA were blended with PLA at 5/95, 10/90, and 15/85 compositions. Films of the blends were prepared by a solution‐casting method with chloroform as the cosolvent. Although the blend with 5% VA in the copolymer appeared to be miscible, the blends with 10 and 15% VA content in the copolymer were immiscible, as verified by dynamic mechanical analysis. The oxygen‐barrier properties of the PLA films were enhanced when they were blended with P(VAc‐ co ‐VA). There was a reduction of about 40% in permeability with the addition of only 5% P(VAc‐ co ‐VA). The reduction in the permeability was more noticeable at higher VA contents. Also, the incorporation of P(VAc‐ co ‐VA) into PLA improved the elongation at break of the films significantly. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012