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Effects of TiO 2 nanoparticles on the photodegradation of poly(lactic acid)
Author(s) -
Luo Yanbing,
Cao Yuzhen,
Guo Gang
Publication year - 2018
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.46509
Subject(s) - photodegradation , materials science , photocatalysis , chemical engineering , nanoparticle , nanocomposite , titanium dioxide , scanning electron microscope , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , lactic acid , gloss (optics) , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , nuclear chemistry , coating , nanotechnology , catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , biology , bacteria , engineering , genetics
Photodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanocomposites could be utilized as an eco‐friendly material. The photocatalytic degradation was investigated under accelerating artificial ultraviolet irradiation conditions for the period up to 100 days according to GB/T16422.3/ISO 4892.4. The change of surface color, gloss loss, morphology, weight loss, intrinsic viscosity, chemical structure, mechanical properties at different irradiation times were verified via solid reflection spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy, Ubbelohde viscometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and tensile test. The structural change accompanied by the degradation of the irradiated samples clearly showed that the photodegradation of PLA/TiO 2 nanocomposites process was via a bulk erosion mechanism. The photodegradability of PLA/TiO 2 samples was higher than that of pure PLA and benefitted a lot from a good dispersion of TiO 2 nanoparticles. The present study suggests that the photodegradation of PLA could be controlled by loading dispersed g‐TiO 2 nanoparticles. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46509.