The effect of dynamic vulcanization on the morphology and biodegradability of super toughened poly(lactic acid)/unsaturated poly(ether-ester) blends

Rong Yang; Chaoyi Cai; Zhifan Chen; Guoxiang Zou; Jinchun Li

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126790

The effect of dynamic vulcanization on the morphology and biodegradability of super toughened poly(lactic acid)/unsaturated poly(ether-ester) blends

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 31;253(Pt 3):126790. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126790. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Authors

Rong Yang¹, Chaoyi Cai², Zhifan Chen², Guoxiang Zou², Jinchun Li³

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China. Electronic address: cloudyyang@cczu.edu.cn.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
³ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China. Electronic address: lijinchun88@163.com.

PMID: 37703967
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126790

Abstract

Preparing a super-tough polylactic acid (PLA) material while maintaining its biodegradability is a significant challenge. This study synthesized a biodegradable unsaturated poly(butylene succinate-co-fumarate)-poly(ethylene glycol) multiblock copolymer (PBSFG) and dynamically vulcanized it with PLA to obtain super-tough blends. The PBSFG self-vulcanized and formed a crosslinked "hard-soft" core-shell rubber phase in the blending process, where the PBSF segment acted as the core and PEG as the shell. As a result, the elongation at break and notched Izod impact strength of PLA increased significantly from 3 % to 66 % and from 3.2 to 58.0 kJ/m², respectively. Furthermore, adding a small amount of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) promoted dynamic vulcanization and improved the compatibility between PLA and PBSFG. With the addition of 0.03 % DCP, the elongation at break and notched Izod impact strength of PLA/PBSFG were further increased to 218 % and 88.9 kJ/m², respectively. Meanwhile, the crystallization rate of PLA was enhanced by the addition of PBSFG and DCP. The PLA/PBSFG blends also degraded in a proteinase K Tris-HCl buffered buffer solution. Finally, fully biodegradable and super-tough PLA blends were achieved.

Keywords: Biodegradable; Poly(lactic acid); Super tough.

MeSH terms

Ether*
Ethers
Ethyl Ethers
Polyesters* / chemistry
Rubber / chemistry

Substances

poly(lactide)
Ether
Polyesters
Rubber
Ethers
Ethyl Ethers
dicumyl peroxide