Open AccessEffect of HNT on mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/polypropylene carbonate blends
Author(s) -
Intan Najwa Humaira Mohamed Haneef,
Yose Fachmi Buys,
Norhashimah Shaffiar,
Sharifah Imihezri Syed Shaharuddin,
Abdul Malek Abdul Hamid,
Mohd Faizul Mohd Sabri,
Amalina M. Afifi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
polimery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.295
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0032-2725
DOI - 10.14314/polimery.2021.9.2
Subject(s) - materials science , ultimate tensile strength , glass transition , polypropylene , flexural strength , halloysite , crystallinity , composite material , nanocomposite , izod impact strength test , lactic acid , elongation , polylactic acid , thermal stability , compounding , flexural modulus , miscibility , chemical engineering , polymer , genetics , biology , bacteria , engineering
In this work, the influence of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) on the mechanical and thermal properties of the poly(lactic acid)/polypropylene carbonate (PLA/PPC 70/30) blend was studied. The HNT was incorporated into the PLA/PPC blend by melt mixing. It was found that addition of 2-6 wt % HNT successfully improved the tensile and flexural strength as well as the flexural and Young’s moduli of PLA/PPC blend, due to the reinforcing effect. Although the elongation at break decreases with increasing HNT content, its value is much higher than that of pure PLA. Moreover, the addition of HNT didnot affect the miscibility of PLA and PPC, since two glass transition temperatures were observed in the DSC thermograms. However, a higher content of HNT may improve the compatibility between PLA and PPC as evidenced by the lower difference between the glass transition temperature of PPC and PLA and reduced crystallinity resulting in higher tensile strength of nanocomposites.Keywords: PLA, PPC, HNT, mechanical properties, thermal properties.