Study of Bio-based Plasticized PLA: Synergy Effect of Organoclay and Epoxidized Soybean Oil on the Rheological and Mechanical Properties

The role of organoclay on the extent of miscibility and plasticization of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) with epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) were studied by using a combination of rheological and mechanical experiments. A pronounced power law-like response exhibited by PLA/ESO samples at low frequency range could be an indication of co-continues type morphology for PLA/ESO system, although the results of thermal analysis revealed that some extent of plasticization could also occur. The nanocomposite hybrid sample showed strong solid-like behavior at low frequency range. This result together with dynamic mechanical analysis results suggested that organoclays are distributed in both phases. This could be explained in terms of similar affinity of organoclay to PLA and ESO. The effect of plasticization on impact strength was also studied. The nanocomposite sample showed the highest toughness among all samples which was attributed to the enhancing effect of organoclay on interfacial adhesion between the blend components

کلیدواژه ها:

poly (lactic acid) ، plasticization ، epoxidized soybean oil ، rheological properties