Effect of blending procedures and reactive compatibilizers on the properties of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) blends

Abstract The effect of Joncryl ADR ® -4368 (abbreviated ADR) and dicumyl peroxide (DCP) on poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blend was investigated. Two different blending procedures were adopted: (1) one-step blending of all components for 8 min; (2) premixing of PBAT and ADR (or DCP) for 4 min followed by addition of PLA blending for 4 min. ADR and DCP were effective compatibilizers for the PBAT/PLA blend by one-step blending which were confirmed by improving the phase interface between PBAT and PLA, decreasing the dispersed phase size, increasing the elasticity, viscosity and tensile strength. Moreover, the addition of ADR into PBAT/PLA blend by two-step blending was more efficient than the one-step blending based on refined morphology and further increased tensile properties. The two-step blending was beneficial to produce a larger amount of PBAT-graft-PLA (PBAT-g-PLA) copolymers at the phase interface. However, DCP was added to the PBAT/PLA blend by the two-step blending which showed lower properties than one-step blending. DCP triggered free branching reactions in a fast way. Based on the character of compatibilizers, choosing properly blending procedures can enlarge the tensile properties. These results would be interesting for industrial polymer materials, and may be importance to the wider practical application of PBAT/PLA blends.