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A toughened PLA/Nanosilica composite obtained in the presence of epoxidized soybean oil
Author(s) -
Xiong Zhu,
Dai Xinyan,
Na Haining,
Tang Zhaobin,
Zhang Ruoyu,
Zhu Jin
Publication year - 2015
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.41220
Subject(s) - epoxidized soybean oil , materials science , composite number , composite material , nanocomposite , brittleness , ductility (earth science) , izod impact strength test , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , toughening , ultimate tensile strength , chemical engineering , toughness , chemistry , raw material , creep , organic chemistry , engineering
In this manuscript, a toughened PLA/nanosilica composite with good storage stability was obtained in the presence of the epoxidized soybean oil (ESO). The composite was fabricated via a twin‐screw extruder, and characterized by the FTIR, selective distribution test, and SEM. The surface of nanosilica was modified by the ESO through the chemical bonding, and this rendered the nanosilica to selectively localize in ESO droplets in the composite. As a result, the PLA/nanosilica composite was changed from brittleness to ductility with the addition of ESO. For example, the elongation and notched impact strength of the PLA/silica/ESO nanocomposite with 5 wt % nanosilica and 15 wt % ESO were ∼42% and ∼11 KJ/m 2 , respectively, which were much higher than neat PLA or PLA/nanosilica composite without ESO. Furthermore, the change of the brittle fracture of PLA into ductile fracture was investigated by SEM micrographs in detail. A possible toughening mechanism was also proposed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 41220.