Melt characteristics, mechanical, and thermal properties of blown film from modified blends of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) and poly(lactide)

Blown films from poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) and poly(lactide) (PLA) blends were investigated. The blends were prepared in a twin-screw extruder, in the presence of small amounts of dicumyl peroxide (DCP). The influence of DCP concentration on film blowing, rheological, mechanical, and thermal properties of the blends is reported in this article. Rheological results showed a marked increase in polymer melt strength and elasticity with the addition of DCP. As a consequence, the film homogeneity and the stability of the bubble were improved. The modified blend films, compared with the unmodified blend, showed an improvement in tensile strength and modulus with a slight loss in elongation. Fourier transform infrared and gel results revealed that chain scission and branching were more significant than crosslinking when the DCP loadings in the blends were not higher than 0.7%. A reduction in melt temperatures of PLA was observed due to difficulty in chain crystallization. The concentrations of DCP strongly affected the melting temperatures but had an insignificant effect on the decomposition behavior of the blends. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011