Modifying the Mechanical, Viscoelastic, Thermal, and Degradation Properties of PLA/PBAT Blends With Nanoclay and PEG

ABSTRACT In this research, polylactic acid (PLA) was blended with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) to enhance PLA's processability, heat resistance, toughness, and flexibility. In this context, the biodegradability of PLA can be maximized in PLA/PBAT blends, as PBAT is also biodegradable and offers an alternative resource for the biobased components of PLA, despite PBAT's primary derivation from fossil fuel sources. However, the immiscibility of these two neat polymers restricts the overall effectiveness of polymer blends. To address this issue, plasticizers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and nanoparticles like nanoclay were added to the blends to enhance their miscibility. The polymer blend underwent analysis through static mechanical testing, creep testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that nanoclay plays a significant role in improving elongation in tensile properties. The addition of 5 parts nanoclay to the 70/30 PLA/PBAT composition shows an elongation‐at‐break of 30%, compared to 4.7% for the 70/30 blend, without significant changes in modulus and strength. TGA analysis shows that neat PBAT has better thermal stability than PLA, whereas the thermal stability of the PLA/PBAT blend was observed to be lower than that of neat PLA.