Michael R. Snowdon1,2, Amar K. Mohanty1,2, Manjusri Misra1,2*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, Suppl.1, pp. 94-105, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634134
Abstract This article assesses the performance of a biobased carbon as a nucleator using common techniques to stimulate poly(lactic acid) crystallization and enhance the thermal stability of PLA during injection molding. The combination of a biodegradable plasticizer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), along with biobased carbon-rich pyrolyzed biomass char residue and an industrially available microcrystalline talc, were tested for nucleating agent capabilities at additions of 10 wt%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data demonstrated that the inclusion of the plasticizer could increase the PLA crystalline content with further improvements when nucleating agent was present. With a higher mold temperature, More >