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Modification of poly(lactic) acid by reactive extrusion and its melt blending with acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene
Author(s) -
Abt Tobias,
Kamrani Mohammad Reza,
Cailloux Jonathan,
Santana Orlando,
SánchezSoto Miguel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.6014
Subject(s) - materials science , maleic anhydride , reactive extrusion , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene , extrusion , composite material , rheology , polymer , acrylonitrile , copolymer , compatibilization , thermoplastic , polymer blend
Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer that has attracted interest as a potential substitute for some thermoplastic polymers. However, its advanced brittleness at room temperature represents one of the major drawbacks for its general use. In this work, PLA was modified by reactive extrusion (PLA REx ) to enhance the rheological behaviour and to limit its degradation. The modified material was melt blended with acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS), and the resultant morphology, rheological, thermo‐mechanical and fracture behaviour were analysed. Since PLA does not have reasonable compatibility with ABS, maleic‐anhydride‐grafted ABS (ABS‐ g ‐Ma) was used as compatibilizer. The morphology of the PLA REx /ABS samples resulted in the formation of small ABS rods in the matrix. The presence of maleic anhydride contributed to reducing the interfacial energy of the blends and to obtaining finer micro‐domains of the ABS‐rich phase in the PLA REx matrix. In the compatibilized blends, the presence of elongated ABS‐rich phases opposed free crack propagation and contributed to the increase in fracture energy in comparison to neat PLA. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry