Effect of addition of triallyl isocyanurate and post‐ultraviolet irradiation on the selected properties of composites of poly(lactic acid), poly(butylene succinate) and nano‐sized calcium carbonate

Abstract Composites of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and nano‐sized calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) with triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC), glycidyl methacrylate and benzophenone (BP) were prepared by using a double screw extruder and blown into films by extrusion blow molding. After exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light at 10, 20, and 40 J/cm 2 of irradiation doses, the selected performances of the irradiated films were investigated. UV irradiation increased the tensile performances but had little effect on the thermal behaviors. Scanning electron microscope revealed that UV irradiation enhanced the connection between the two phases of PLA and PBS. The improvement in tensile properties was attributed to the formation of crosslinking during UV irradiation in the presence of TAIC and BP and the enhancement of the interface bonding between the two. However, excessive exposure reduced the elongation at break and fracture energy, attributed to the molecular chain breakage at high doses. On the other hand, the tensile performances improved and the light transmission decreased with increasing the TAIC content up to 2.5 phr after UV exposure at the same irradiation dose. UV irradiation was revealed to be a simple and effective technique to improve the tensile performances of LA/PBS/CaCO 3 films with bicontinuous phases.