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Biopolymer foams from Novatein thermoplastic protein and poly(lactic acid)
Author(s) -
Walallavita Anuradha Sammanie,
Verbeek Casparus Johannes Reinhard,
Lay Mark Christopher
Publication year - 2017
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.45561
Subject(s) - materials science , crystallinity , lactic acid , biopolymer , thermoplastic , plasticizer , chemical engineering , coalescence (physics) , polymer chemistry , composite material , polymer , genetics , physics , astrobiology , bacteria , engineering , biology
A batch processing method is used to fabricate foams comprising of a blend of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and Novatein, a protein‐based thermoplastic. Various compositions of Novatein/PLA are prepared with and without a compatibilizer, PLA grafted with itaconic anhydride (PLA‐g‐IA). Pure Novatein cannot form a cellular structure at a foaming temperature of 80 °C, however, in a blend with 50 wt % of PLA, microcells form with smaller cell sizes (3.36 µm) and higher cell density (8.44 × 10 21 cells cm −3 ) compared to pure PLA and blends with higher amounts of PLA. The incorporation of 50 wt % of semicrystalline Novatein stiffens the amorphous PLA phase, which restrains cell coalescence and cell collapse in the blends. At a foaming temperature of 140 °C, NTP 30 –PLA 70 shows a unique interconnected porous morphology which can be attributed to the CO 2 ‐induced plasticization effect. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45561.