Facile fabrication of fully biodegradable and biorenewable poly (lactic acid)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) in-situ nanofibrillar composites with high strength, good toughness and excellent heat resistance

Fully biodegradable and renewable polymer materials have shown broad application prospects with minimal environmental degradation. In the current study, eco-friendly poly(lactic acid)/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) in-situ nanofibrillar composites with hierarchical crystal architectures, high mechanical performance and excellent heat resistance properties were fabricated using the loop oscillating push-pull molding (LOPPM) technique and in-situ PBAT nanofibrils were used to induce highly oriented hybrid shish-kebabs. Benefiting from the flow-induced crystallization and abundant hybrid shish-kebabs, the overall crystallinity of LOPPM-processed PLA/10 wMPBAT sample increased by 4-fold than the conventional injection-molded (CIM) neat PIA sample. The present work indicated that the tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break and impact strength of LOPPM-processed PLA/10 wt%PBAT were higher than the CIM-processed PLA by 36.2%, 12.5%, 181.8% and 253.7%, respectively. The vicat softening temperature was elevated from 59.6 degrees C to 104.8 degrees C, and the thermostability also enhanced due to the construction of hybrid shish-kebabs. Strong, tough and heat-resistant PLA/PBAT in situ nanofibrillar composites exhibited outstanding properties for use under more demanding circumstances and are environmentally friendly. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.