Preparation and Properties of Bamboo Fiber/Bamboo Powder/ PLA / PBAT Shape Memory Composites

ABSTRACT To improve the mechanical property of poly (butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT), the bamboo powder/polylactic acid (PLA)/PBAT (BPP) composites were prepared by melt‐blending, and the NaOH solutions treated bamboo fiber (BF)/BPP composites were prepared by a hot‐pressing molding approach. The effects of BF on the structure and properties of the BF/BPP composites were studied. The results showed that the BF mat significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites, especially those reinforced with a double‐outer‐layer BF mat. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the 4 wt% NaOH solution pretreated‐BF reinforced BPP composites were 19.0 and 257.9 MPa, respectively. In addition, the BF/BPP composites had good shape memory properties, with shape memory fixity ratio ( R f ) and shape memory recovery ratio ( R r ) reaching 97.8% and 82.2% under 120°C, respectively. The R r of the composites gradually increased with the concentration of NaOH solutions. This study may provide a feasible reference for the research and application of the PBAT‐based biodegradable composites modified with natural reinforcing materials.