Ductile poly(lactic acid)-based blends derived from poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate): Structures and properties

Because of superior tensile strength, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has emerged as one among the growth-oriented biodegradable materials. But it has been limited to some extent in practical applications due to poor ductility. Consequently, in order to improve the drawback of poor ductility of PLA, ductile blends were obtained by melt-blending of poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate) (PBSTF25) with PLA. PBSTF25 has a good improvement on the ductility of PLA due to its excellent toughness. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that PBSTF25 promoted the cold crystallization of PLA. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that PBSTF25 experienced stretch-induced crystallization throughout the stretching procedure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed neat PLA had a smooth fracture surface, but the blends had rough fracture surface. PBSTF25 can improve the ductility and processing properties of PLA. When the addition of PBSTF25 reached 20 wt%, tensile strength was 42.5 MPa and elongation at break increased to 156.6 %, approximately 19 times as much as PLA. The toughening effect of PBSTF25 was better than that of poly(butylene succinate).