Dielectric breakdown properties of polylactic acid with β‐crystalline chitin

Abstract β ‐Crystalline chitin was added to polylactic acid (PLA), and this PLA was then heat treated at 100 °C for 1 min. The crystallinity of the heat‐treated PLA increased to more than 40%, and its crystallization speed also increased significantly. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the dielectric breakdown strength ( E B ) was checked, and it was found that at a temperature of 80 °C, the E B value of the PLA with chitin was around 1.8 times greater than that of the PLA without chitin. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.