Properties and morphology of polylactic acid composites reinforced by orientation aligned calcium carbonate whisker

Abstract In this work, the polylactic acid (PLA)/calcium carbonate whisker (CCW) fibers was prepared by a simple solution spinning method. The PLA/CCW fiber was arranged in different stacking sequences into the laminated structure, and then was hot pressed to obtain the PLA/CCW composite plate with orientation aligned CCW. The presence of orientation aligned CCW significantly improved the flexural performance of composites. The flexural modulus of the unidirectional stacking PLA/CCW composite containing 20 wt% CCW was 7049 MPa, which was nearly twice of pure PLA. After the CCW were treated by silane coupling agent, the toughness of PLA/CCW composite can be enhanced due to the improvement of interfacial interaction between CCW and PLA. The effect of stacking sequence on the mechanical properties of composites was investigated. The 45° angel cross stacking PLA/CCW composite has higher tensile performance and moderate flexural performance compare with other composites. The PLA/CCW composites prepared in this work has good potential applications in the biomedical field due to its good mechanical and biodegradable properties.