The influence of poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) on polylactide/wood flour/calcium carbonate composites

In this paper, polylactide (PLA)/wood flour (WF)/calcium carbonate (CC) composites with different content of poly(maleic anhydride -co- vinyl acetate) (PMAVA) were prepared. PMAVA was obtained by radical solution polymerization and identified by FTIR. The torque -time curves showed that the balance torques of PLA/WF/CC composites with PMAVA were improved by the adding of PMAVA. SEM photographs showed that after the addition of PMAVA, the compatibility and interfacial adhesion between the filler (CC or WF) and PLA in each composite were increased. DSC heating curves showed that two cold crystallization temperature (Tcc) peaks appeared in each PLA/WF/CC composite, and the Tcc peak at high temperature and Tm peak in the composite containing PMAVA were split into two peaks, showing that the effects of WF and CC on the crystal of PLA were uncorrelated, and the presence of PMAVA decreased the crystal integrity of PLA. The tensile test results showed that the tensile strength and modulus of the composite were increased with the addition of PMAVA, and the composite with 0.5 wt% of PMAVA owned the best tensile performance. The hydrolysis results showed that the use of low content of PMAVA in the composite was beneficial to improve its hydrolysis rate.

Automated summary

This study prepared polylactide (PLA)/wood flour (WF)/calcium carbonate (CC) composites with different content of poly(maleic anhydride -co- vinyl acetate) (PMAVA). The addition of PMAVA improved the torque balance of PLA/WF/CC composites as shown by the torque-time curves. SEM photographs showed enhanced compatibility and interfacial adhesion between the filler (CC or WF) and PLA after the addition of PMAVA. DSC heating curves indicated that WF and CC had unrelated effects on the crystal of PLA, and the presence of PMAVA decreased the crystal integrity of PLA. The tensile test results demonstrated increased tensile strength and modulus with the addition of PMAVA, and the composite with 0.5 wt% PMAVA showed the best tensile performance. Hydrolysis results indicated that low content of PMAVA in the composite improved its hydrolysis rate.