Yodthong Baimark^*, Theeraphol Phromsopha

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.4, pp. 1881-1894, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.025400 - 01 December 2022

Abstract A poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide)(PLLA-PEG-PLLA) block copolymer has great potential for use as a flexible bioplastic. Highly flexible bioplastics are required for flexible packaging applications. In this work, a PEG was incorporated into block copolymer as a plasticizer by solvent casting. PLLA-PEG-PLLA/ PEG blends with different blend ratios were prepared, and the plasticizing effect and miscibility of PEG in block copolymer were intensively investigated compared to PLLA/PEG blends. The results indicated that the PEG was an effective plasticizer for the block copolymer. The blending of PEG decreased glass-transition temperature and accelerated the crystallization of both the PLLA More > Graphic Abstract

SHOGO TAKASUKA^1,*, TATSUHIRO TAKAHASHI¹

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.1-2, pp. 1-10, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.1

Abstract The effects of compounds containing oxazoline groups and the presence of maleic anhydridegrafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) on the spectral, morphological, and tensile properties of polypropylene (PP)/liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) blends were investigated. A wholly aromatic LCP having a low melting point which was copolyester, namely AL-7000 have been used, because thermal decomposition of PP and compatibilizer must be prevented.Compression molding was selected as the molding method because it allows molding with a small amount of sample. The binary blends of PP and LCP showed a degradation of tensile properties compared to pure PP. However, the addition More >

Ana Clara Lancarovici Alves, Rafael Grande, Antonio José Felix Carvalho^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 245-252, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00833

Abstract The interest in thermoplastic starch (TPS) as a substitute material to replace conventional thermoplastics continues especially due its biodegradability, availability, low cost and because it is obtained from renewable sources. However, its poor mechanical properties and its high sensitivity to humidity have limited its use in several applications. Here, the copolymer poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH), with two different ethylene contents, 27 and 44 mol% were blended with TPS by extrusion in order to overcome these limitations. The obtained blends were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mechanical tensile testing, Scanning Electron Microscopy More >