Toughened Biodegradable PLA: Comparison Between the Mechanical Performance of EPDM and PBR

As a promising approach to toughen biodegradable poly(lactic) acid (PLA) with elastomeric materials, themechanical performance of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and polybutadiene rubber (PBR) integratedwith PLA was separately studied through the melt mixing method. PLA/PBR blended with a composition of ۹۰/۱۰showed excellent toughness around ۱۰۶% in elongation at break, which is ۴۵ times superior to virgin PLA. This valuewas acquired by nearly ۲۲% at the same weight ratio for PLA/EPDM compound. Meanwhile, obtained results from thenotched Izod impact test indicated higher improvement in ۹۰/۱۰ blend of PLA/EPDM with ۵.۳۴ J/m, whereas theperformed Izod impact on the PLA/PBR reached ۲.۱۱ J/m in alike formulation, evaluated ۲.۵ times lower. Alldemonstrated tensile examinations showed that PBR could prominently enhance the ductility of inherently brittle PLAwhich lies in higher resiliency of PBR than EPDM, however, EPDM reinforced greatly the impact resistance of PLA.

کلیدواژه ها:

polylactic acid ، elastomeric materials ، mechanical properties ، biodegradable thermoplastic