Open Access

ARTICLE

Renewable Resource based blends of Polylactic acid (PLA) and Thermoplastic starch (TPS) using Novel Reactive Compatibilization

SUKHILA KRISHNAN^*, SMITA MOHANTY, SANJAY K.NAYAK

Laboratory for Advanced Research in Polymeric Materials (LARPM), Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Bhubaneswar, INDIA

* Corresponding Author: e-mail:

Journal of Polymer Materials 2017, 34(3), 525-538.

Abstract

The current work deals with enhancing the compatibility between thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polylactic acid (PLA) blends. TPS was initially modified with methylene diphenyldiisocyanate (MDI) / epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) to reduce its hydrophilic nature. The effect of MDI / ESO incorporation on the properties of PLA/TPS blend was evaluated by employing thermal, mechanical, morphological and water absorption studies. Morphological studies showed that in comparison to TPS, TPS modified by MDI and ESO were uniformly dispersed within the PLA matrix and exhibited higher impact energy as compared with neat PLA.

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Keywords

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