Effect of castor oil enrichment layer produced by reaction on the properties of PLA/HDI-g-starch blends

Blends of entirely bio-sourced polymers, namely polylactide (PLA) and starch, have been melt-compounded by lab-scale co-extruder with castor oil (CO) as a plasticizer. The enrichment of castor oil on starch had great effect on the properties of the blends. If the castor oil was mainly dispersed in PLA matrix, the properties of the blends were poor, but when the hexamethylenediisocyanate (HDI) was grafted on starch granules the ready reactions between the hydroxyl on CO and the isocyante on the HDI-grafted starch (HGSTs) brought CO molecules enriched on starch particles. DSC analysis shows that the CO layer on starch has a positive effect on the crystallization of PLA in the ternary blend. The accumulation of CO on starch greatly improves the toughness and impact strength of PLA/starch blends. The grafting content of HDI on the starch granules primarily determined the compatibility and properties of the resulted blends. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.