Volume 30, Issue 4 pp. 963-972
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Toughening modification of PLLA with PCL in the presence of PCL-b-PLLA diblock copolymers as compatibilizer

Sheng Xiang

Sheng Xiang

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

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Lidong Feng

Lidong Feng

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

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Xinchao Bian

Xinchao Bian

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

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Bao Zhang

Bao Zhang

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

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Bin Sun

Bin Sun

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

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Yanlong Liu

Yanlong Liu

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

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Gao Li

Corresponding Author

Gao Li

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Correspondence

Gao Li and Xuesi Chen, Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Xuesi Chen

Corresponding Author

Xuesi Chen

Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Jilin Biomedical Polymers Engineering Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

Correspondence

Gao Li and Xuesi Chen, Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 04 February 2019
Citations: 32

Abstract

To obtain an effective compatibilizer for the blends of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), the diblock copolymers PCL-b-PLLA with different ratios of PCL/PLLA (CL/LA) and different molecular weights (Mn) were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide with monohydric poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-OH) as a macro-initiator. These copolymers were melt blended with PLLA/PCL (80/20) blend at contents between 3.0 and 20 phr (parts per hundred resin), and the effects of added PCL-b-PLLA on the mechanical, morphological, rheological, and thermodynamic properties of the PLLA/PCL/PCL-b-PLLA blends were investigated. The compatibility between PLLA matrix and PCL phase was enhanced with decreasing in CL/LA ratios or increasing in Mn for the added PCL-b-PLLA. Moreover, the crystallinity of PLLA matrix increased because of the added compatibilizers. The PCL-b-PLLA with the ratio of CL/LA (50/50) and Mn ≥ 39.0 kg/mol were effective compatibilizers for PLLA/PCL blends. When the content of PCL-b-PLLA is greater than or equal to 5 phr, the elongations at break of the PLLA/PCL/PCL-b-PLLA blends all reached approximately 180%, about 25 times more than the pristine PLLA/PCL(80/20) blend.

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