Improvement of Melt Strength in Polylactic Acid through Chain Branching

In this study, we investigated the effect of incorporating ۰.۱ and ۰.۵ wt% lauroyl peroxide (LPO) asa branching agent on the improvement of melt strength in polylactic acid. The Fourier TransformInfrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) test confirmed the successful branching of PLA structure.Additionally, GPC test revealed an increase in the molecular weight of sample. To further explorethe effects of branching on the melt strength of polylactic acid, we also analyzed its rheologicalproperties in melt state. Our findings demonstrate that the incorporation of ۰.۱ wt% LPO had nosignificant effect on PLA properties and only the addition of ۰.۵ wt% peroxide could effectivelyintroduce branches onto the PLA chains, resulting in improved melt strength of the polymer.

کلیدواژه ها:

Polylactic acid ، Chain Branching ، Rheological behavior ، FTIR analysis ، GPC