Synergistic reinforcing of poly(lactic acid) by poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) and alumina nanoparticles

Abstract Biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene adipate‐ co ‐terephthalate) (PBAT) blends and PLA/PBAT/Al 2 O 3 nanocomposites were fabricated via solution blending. The influence of PBAT and Al 2 O 3 content on the thermal stability, flexural properties, impact strength, and morphology of both the PLA/PBAT blends and the PLA/PBAT/Al 2 O 3 nanocomposites were investigated. The impact strength of the PLA/PBAT/Al 2 O 3 nanocomposites containing 5 wt% PBAT increased from 4.3 to 5.2 kJ/m 2 when the Al 2 O 3 content increased from 0 to 1 wt%. This represents a 62% increase compared to the impact strength of pristine PLA and a 20% increase compared to the impact strength of PLA/PBAT blends containing 5 wt% PBAT. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed that the Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles in the PLA/PBAT/Al 2 O 3 nanocomposites function as a compatibilizer to improve the interfacial interaction between the PBAT and the PLA matrix.