Abstract
Biopolymers are expected to be an alternative for conventional plastics due to the limited resources and soaring petroleum price which will restrict the use of petroleum based plastics in the near future. PLA has attracted the attention of polymer scientist recently as a potential biopolymer to substitute the conventional petroleum based plastics. The chapter aims to highlight on the recent developments in preparation and characterization of PLA blends (biodegradable and non-biodegradable blends), PLA composites (natural fiber and mineral fillers) and PLA nanocomposites (PLA/montmorillonite, PLA/carbon nanotubes and PLA/cellulose nanowhiskers).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Jacobsen, S., Dege´e, P., Fritz, H.G., Dubois, P., Jerome, R.: Polylactide (PLA)-a new way of production. Polym. Eng. Sci. 39(7), 1311–1319 (1999)
Jacobsen, S., Fritz, H.G.: Plasticizing polylactide-the effect of different plasticizers on the mechanical properties. Polym. Eng. Sci. 39(7), 1303–1310 (1999)
Lim, J.W., Hassan, A., Rahmat, A.R., Wahit, M.U.: Morphology, thermal and mechanical behavior of polypropylene nanocomposites toughened with poly (ethylene-co-octene). Polym. Int. 55, 204–215 (2006)
Hasegawa, N., Okamoto, H., Kawasumi, M., Usuki, A.: Preparation and mechanical properties of polystyrene–clay hybrids. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 74, 3359–3364 (1999)
Gupta, K., Rana, S.K., Deopura, B.: Mechanical properties and morphology of high-density polyethylene/linear low-density polyethylene blend. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 46, 99–108 (1992)
Wahit, M.U.: Rubber toughened polyamide 6/polypropylene nanocomposites: Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Ph.D. thesis. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai (2006)
Baiardo, M., Frisoni, G., Scandola, M., Rimelen, M., Lips, D., Ruffieux, K., Wintermantel, E.: Thermal and mechanical properties of plasticized poly(L-lactic acid). J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 90, 1731–1738 (2003)
Kulinski, Z., Piorkowska, E.: Crystallization, structure and properties of plasticized poly(L-lactide). Polymer 46, 10290–10300 (2005)
Takayama, T., Todo, M.: Improvement of impact fracture properties of PLA/PCL polymer blend due to LTI addition. J. Mater. Sci. 41, 4989–4992 (2006)
Takayama, T., Todo, M., Tsuji, H.: Effect of annealing on the mechanical properties of PLA/PCL and PLA/PCL/LTI polymer blends. J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 4, 255–260 (2011)
Semba, T., Kitagawa, K., Ishiaku, U.S., Hamada, H.: The Effect of crosslinking on the mechanical properties of polylactic acid/polycaprolactone blends. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 101(3), 1816–1825 (2006)
Chen, B.K., Shen, C.H., Chen, S.C., Chen, A.F.: Ductile PLA modified with methacryloyloxyalkyl isocyanate improves mechanical properties. Polymer 51, 4667–4672 (2010)
Jiang, L., Wolcott, M.P., Zhang, J.: Study of biodegradable polylactide/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends. Biomacromolecules 7, 199–207 (2006)
Li, Y., Shimizu, H.: Toughening of polylactide by melt blending with a biodegradable poly(ether)urethane elastomer. Macromol. Biosci. 7, 921–928 (2007)
Liu, T.Y., Lin, W.C., Yang, M.C., Chen, S.Y.: Miscibility, thermal characterization and crystallization of poly(l-lactide) and poly(tetramethylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blend membranes. Polymer 46(26), 12586–12594 (2005)
Anderson, K.S., Lim, S.H., Hillmyer, M.A.: Toughening of polylactide by melt blending with linear low-density polyethylene. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 89, 3757–3768 (2003)
Ishada, S., Nagasaki, R., Chino, K., Dong, T., Inoue, Y.: Toughening of poly(L-lactide) by melt blending with rubbers. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 113, 558–566 (2009)
Balakrishnan, H., Hassan, A., Wahit, M.U.: Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of polylactic acid/linear low density polyethylene blends. J. Elastomers Plast. 42(3), 223–229 (2010)
Natureworks LLC Website.: Technology Focus Report: Toughened PLA. http://www.natureworkspla.com. (2007). Accessed June 2011
Dupont Website.: Product Data Sheet. Dupont Biomax Strong 100. http://www2.dupont.com/DuPont_Home/en_US/index.html (2007). Accessed June 2011
Lanzillotta, C., Pipino, A., Lips, D.: New functional biopolymer natural fiber composites from agriculture resources. In: Proceeding of annual technical conference of the society of plastics engineers, vol. 60, pp. 2185 (2002)
Tokoro, R., Vu, D.M., Okubo, K., Tanaka, T., Fujii, T., Fujiura, T.: Mechanical properties of polylactic acid/bamboo fibers. J. Mater. Sci. 43, 775–787 (2008)
Graupner, N., Herrmann, A.S., Mussig, J.: Natural and man-made cellulose fibre-reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites: An overview about mechanical characteristics and application areas. Compos. A 40, 810–821 (2009)
Wu, C.S.: Renewable resource-based composites of recycled natural fibers and maleated polylactide bioplastic: Characterization and biodegradability. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 94, 1076–1084 (2009)
Qin, L., Qiu, J., Liu, M., Ding, S., Shao, L., Lu, S., Zhang, G.: Mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) composites with rice straw fiber modified by poly(butyl acrylate). Chem. Eng. J. 166(2), 772–778 (2011)
Sawpan, M.A., Pickering, K.L., Fernyhough, A.: Improvement of mechanical performance of industrial hemp fibre reinforced polylactide biocomposites. Compos. A 42, 310–319 (2011)
Yussuf, A.A., Massoumi, I., Hassan, A.: Comparison of polylactic acid/kenaf and polylactic acid/rise husk composites: The influence of the natural fibers on the mechanical, thermal and biodegradability properties. J. Polym. Environ. 18(3), 422–429 (2010)
Wu, C.S.: Improving polylactide/starch biocomposites by grafting polylactide with acrylic acid–characterization and biodegradability assessment. Macromol. Biosci. 5, 352–361 (2005)
Shi, Q., Chen, C., Gao, L., Jiao, L., Xu, H., Guo, W.: Physical and degradation properties of binary or ternary blends composed of poly (lactic acid), thermoplastic starch and GMA grafted POE. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 96, 175–182 (2011)
Rothon, R.N.: Particulate-Filled Polymer Composites. Longman Scientific & Technical, U.K. (1995)
Velasco, J.I., Desaja, J.A., Martinez, A.B.: Crystallization behavior of polypropylene filled with surface-modified talc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 61, 125–132 (1996)
Audrey, W., Rahul, B., Amar, K.M.: Novel talc-filled biodegradable bacterial polyester composites. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 45, 7497–7503 (2006)
Fowlks, A.C., Narayan, R.: The effect of maleated polylactic acid (PLA) as an interfacial modifier in PLA-talc composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 118, 2810–2820 (2010)
Huda, M.S., Drzal, L.T., Mohanty, A.K., Misra, M.: The effect of silane treated- and untreated- talc on the mechanical and physic-mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid)/newspaper fibers/talc hybrid composites. Compos. B 38, 367–379 (2007)
Kim, H.S., Park, B.H., Choi, J.H., Yoon, J.S.: Mechanical properties and thermal stability of poly(L-lactide)/calcium carbonate composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 109, 3087–3092 (2008)
Wang, N., Zhang, X., Ma, X., Fang, J.: Influence of carbon black on the properties of plasticized poly(lactic acid) composites. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 93, 1044–1052 (2008)
Giannelis, E.P.: Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites: Synthesis, properties and applications. Appl. Organomet. Chem. 12(10–11), 675–680 (1998)
Alexandre, M., Dubois, P.: Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites: preparation, properties and uses of a new class of materials. Mater. Sci. Eng., R 28(1–2), 1–63 (2000)
Ogata, N., Jimenez, G., Kawai, H., Ogihara, T.: Structure and thermal/mechanical properties of poly(L-lactide)-clay blend. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 35, 389–396 (1997)
Bandyopadhyay, S., Chen, R., Giannelis, E.P.: Biodegradable organic-inorganic hybrids based on poly(L-lactide). Polym. Mater. Sci. Eng. 81, 159–160 (1997)
Pluta, M., Galeski, A., Alexandre, M., Paul, M.A., Dubois, P.: Polylactide/montmorillonite nanocomposites and microcomposites prepared by melt blending: Structure and some physical properties. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 86, 1497–1506 (2002)
Ray, S.S., Maiti, P., Okamoto, M., Yamada, K., Ueda, K.: New polylactide/layered silicate nanocomposites. 1. Preparation, characterization, and properties. Macromolecules 35, 3104–3110 (2002)
Maiti, P., Yamada, K., Okamoto, M., Ueda, K., Okamoto, K.: New polylactice/layered silicate nanocomposites: Role of organocalys. Chem. Mater. 14(11), 4654–4661 (2002)
Nam, J.Y., Ray, S.S., Okamoto, M.: Crystallization behavior and Morphology of biodegradable polylactide/layered silicate nanocomposite. Macromolecules 36, 7126–7131 (2003)
Lee, H.J., Park, T.G., Park, H.S., Lee, D.S., Lee, Y.K., Yoon, S.C., Nam, J.: Thermal and mechanical characteristics of poly (L-lactic acid) nanocomposite scaffold. Biomaterials 24, 2773–2778 (2003)
Krikorian, V., Pochan, D.J.: Poly(L-lactic acid)/layered silicate nanocomposite: Fabrication, characterization, and properties. Chem. Mater. 15, 4317–4324 (2003)
Di, Y., Iannace, S., Maio, E.D., Nicolais, L.: Poly(lactic acid)/organoclay nanocomposites: Thermal, rheological properties and foam processing. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 43, 689–698 (2005)
Petersson, L., Oksman, K.: Biopolymer based nanocomposites: Comparing layered silicates and microcrystalline cellulose as nanoreinforcement. Compos. Sci. Technol. 66, 2187–2196 (2006)
Pluta, M.: Melt compounding of polylactide/organoclay: Structure and properties of nanocomposites. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 44, 3392–3405 (2006)
Wu, T.M., Wu, C.Y.: Biodegradable poly(lactic acid)/chitosan-modified montmorillonite nanocomposites: Preparation and characterization. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 91, 2198–2204 (2006)
Pluta, M., Jeszka, J.K., Boiteux, G.: Polylactide/montmorillonite nanocomposites: Structure, dielectric, viscoelastic and thermal properties. Eur. Polymer J. 43, 2819–2835 (2007)
Jiang, L., Zhang, J., Wolcott, M.P.: Comparison of polylactide/nano-sized calcium carbonate and polylactide/montmorillonite composites: Reinforcing effects and toughening mechanisms. Polymer 48, 7632–7644 (2007)
Chow, W.S., Lok, S.K.: Flexural, morphological and thermal properties of polylactic acid/organo-montmorillonite nanocomposites. Polym. Polym. Compos. 16(4), 263–270 (2008)
Paul, M.A., Alexandre, M., Dege´e, P., Henrist, C., Rulmont, A., Dubois, P.: New nanocomposite materials based on plasticized poly(L-lactide) and organo-modified montmorillonites: Thermal and morphological study. Polymer 44, 443–450 (2003)
Pluta, M.: Morphology and properties of polylactide modified by thermal treatment, filling with layered silicates and plasticization. Polymer 45, 8239–8251 (2004)
Thellen, C., Orroth, C., Froio, D., Ziegler, D., Lucciarini, J., Farrell, R., D’Souza, N.A., Ann, J.: Influence of montmorillonite layered silicate on plasticized poly(L-lactide) blown films. Polymer 46, 11716–11727 (2005)
Pluta, M., Paul, M.A., Alexandre, M., Dubois, P.: Plasticized polylactide/clay nanocomposites. I. the role of filler content and its surface organo-modification on the physico-chemical properties. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 44, 299–311 (2006)
Pluta, M., Paul, M.A., Alexandre, M., Dubois, P.: Plasticized polylactide/clay nanocomposites. II. the effect of aging on structure and properties in relation to the filler content and the nature of its organo-modification. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 44, 312–325 (2006)
Balakrishnan, H., Hassan, A., Imran, M., Wahit, M.U.: Toughening of polylactic acid nanocomposites: A short review. Polym. Plast. Technol. Eng. 51(2), 175–192 (2012)
Li, T., Turng, L.S., Gong, S., Erlacher, K.: Polylactide, nanoclay, and core–shell rubber composites. Polym. Eng. Sci. 46(10), 1419–1427 (2006)
Balakrishnan, H., Hassan, A., Wahit, M.U., Yussuf, A.A., Abdul Razak, S.B.: Novel toughened polylactic acid nanocomposites: Mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Mater. Des. 31, 3289–3298 (2010)
Balakrishnan, H., Masomi, I., Yussuf, A.A., Imran, M., Hassan, A., Wahit, M.U.: Ethylene copolymer toughened polylactic acid nanocomposites. Polym. Plast. Technol. Eng. 51(1), 19–27 (2012)
Iijima, S.: Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon. Nature 354, 56–58 (1991)
Coleman, J.N., Khan, U., Blau, W.J., Gunko, Y.K.: Small but strong: A review of the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube–polymer composites. Carbon 44, 1624–1652 (2006)
Moniruzzaman, M., Winey, K.I.: Polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotubes. Macromolecules 39, 5194–5205 (2006)
Ajayan, P.M., Stephan, O., Colliex, C., Trauth, D.: Aligned carbon nanotube arrays formed by cutting a polymer resin—nanotube composite. Science 265, 1212–1214 (1994)
Song, W., Zheng, Z., Tang, W., Wang, X.: A facile approach to covalently functionalized carbon nanotubes with biocompatible polymer. Polymer 48, 3658–3663 (2007)
Kobashi, K., Villmow, T., Andres, T., Pötschke, P.: Liquid sensing of melt-processed poly(lactic acid)/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite films. Sens. Actuators, B 134, 787–795 (2008)
Kuan, C.F., Chen, C.H., Kuan, H.C., Lin, K.C., Chiang, C.L., Peng, H.C.: Multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced poly(L-lactic acid) nanocomposites enhanced by water-crosslinking reaction. J. Phys. Chem. Solids 69, 1399–1402 (2008)
Tsuji, H., Kawashima, Y., Takikawa, H., Tanaka, S.: Poly(L-lactide)/nano-structured carbon composites: Conductivity, thermal properties, crystallization, and biodegradation. Polymer 48, 4213–4225 (2007)
Wu, C.S., Liao, H.T.: Study on the preparation and characterization of biodegradable polylactide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites. Polymer 48, 4449–4458 (2007)
Wu, D., Wu, L., Zhang, M., Zhao, Y.: Viscoelasticity and thermal stability of polylactide composites with various functionalized carbon nanotubes. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 93, 1577–1584 (2008)
Azizi Samir, M.A.S., Alloin, F., Dufresne, A.: Review of recent research into cellulosic whiskers, their properties and their application in nanocomposite field. Biomacromolecules 6, 612–626 (2005)
Grunert, M., Winter, W.T.: Nanocomposites of cellulose acetate butyrate reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals. J. Polym. Environ. 10, 27–30 (2002)
Gopalan, N.K., Dufresne, A., Gandini, A., Belgacem, M.N.: Crab shell chitin whiskers reinforced natural rubber nanocomposites. 3. Effect of chemical modification of chitin whiskers. Biomacromolecules 4, 1835–1842 (2003)
Kvien, I., Tanem, B.S., Oksman, K.: Characterization of cellulose whiskers and their nanocomposites by atomic force and electron microscopy. Biomacromolecules 6, 3160–3165 (2005)
Petersson, L., Kvien, I., Oksman, K.: Structure and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/cellulose whiskers nanocomposite materials. Compos. Sci. Technol. 67, 2535–2544 (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hassan, A., Balakrishnan, H., Akbari, A. (2013). Polylactic Acid Based Blends, Composites and Nanocomposites. In: Thomas, S., Visakh, P., Mathew, A. (eds) Advances in Natural Polymers. Advanced Structured Materials, vol 18. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20940-6_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20940-6_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20939-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20940-6
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)