Mechanical, Thermal, Rheological and Morphological Properties of Binary and Ternary Blends of PLA, TPS and PCL

Binary and ternary blends containing different compositions of poly-l-lactide (PLA), thermoplastic starch (TPS) and poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) polymers were generated by melt extrusion procedure. The onset of thermal degradation was observed to increase from 300 degrees C to 327 degrees C when the PCL content was increased form 0% to 50%. DSC analysis further revealed that TPS addition resulted in slight lowering of peak melting temperature of PLA and PCL. Tensile modulus value of 1591 MPa was measured for PLA(50)TPS(50) blend, which decreased to 866 MPa for the PLA(50)PCL(50) blend. Storage modulus was also observed to decrease as a function of PCL content in the blends. The miscibility analysis revealed the impact of PCL in enhancing the intermixing of the polymers in the ternary blends.