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Morphology and thermal degradation studies of melt‐mixed PLA/PHBV biodegradable polymer blend nanocomposites with TiO 2 as filler
Author(s) -
Mofokeng Julia P.,
Luyt Adriaan S.
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.42138
Subject(s) - thermogravimetric analysis , thermal stability , materials science , nanocomposite , polymer , polymer blend , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , biodegradable polymer , degradation (telecommunications) , composite material , phase (matter) , copolymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , telecommunications , computer science , engineering
The morphology and thermal stability of melt‐mixed poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(hydroxybutyrate‐co‐valerate) (PHBV) blends and nanocomposites with small amounts of TiO 2 nanoparticles were investigated. PLA/PHBV at 50/50 w/w formed a co‐continuous structure, and most of the TiO 2 nanoparticles were well dispersed in the PLA phase and on the interface between PLA and PHBV, with a small number of large agglomerates in the PHBV phase. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and TGA–Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the thermal stability and degradation behavior of the two polymers, their blends, and nanocomposites. The thermal stability of PHBV was improved through blending with PLA, whereas that of the PLA was reduced through blending with PHBV, and the presence of TiO 2 nanoparticles seemingly improved the thermal stability of both polymers in the blend. However, the degradation kinetics results revealed that the nanoparticles could catalyze the degradation process and/or retard the volatilization of the degradation products, depending on their localization and their interaction with the polymer in question. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42138.