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Filling of poly(lactic acid) with native starch
Author(s) -
Jacobsen S.,
Fritz H. G.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.10680
Subject(s) - differential scanning calorimetry , starch , thermogravimetric analysis , materials science , glass transition , lactic acid , polymer , biodegradable polymer , polyester , crystallization , ethylene glycol , chemical engineering , biodegradation , polymer chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , genetics , biology , bacteria , engineering , thermodynamics
Poly(lactic‐acid) (PLA), a biodegradable polyester with excellent properties for different polymer applications, will play a major role in future markets for biodegradable polymers. But only if the currently very high price level can be reduced significantly to at least 4 $US/kg. Therefore, studies to fill poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with relative inexpensive native corn starch were conducted. Because PLA is a very brittle material with a glass transition point at 54°C, filling of PLA with native starch might seem unrealistic, as the brittleness is increased by the dispersed starch granules. To avoid this, low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is introduced into the PLA to enhance crystallization and to lower the glass transition temperature significantly under possible usage temperatures. The polymer that is modified in this way is then filled with native starch. The thermal behavior of the achieved di‐ or triblends is determined by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the degradation behavior at high temperature has been looked at with the help of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).