Study on the Crystallization, Miscibility, Morphology, Properties of Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(-caprolactone) Blends

A series of blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) with different mass ratio were prepared by means of the melt blending method to study their crystallization, miscibility, morphology, and thermal and mechanical properties. The result of DSC tests showed that the melting temperatures of PLA and PCL shifted toward each other, and that the largest shift appeared at the PLA70PCL30 blend. This result reveals that the PLA70PCL30 blend gives the strongest interaction intensity among the blends. Combined the result of dynamic mechanical analysis and SEM morphologies, it was found that PLA and PCL form a partial miscible blend, in which an amount of amorphous PCL (amorphous PLA) is dissolved in the PLA-rich phase (PCL-rich phase), leading to a depression of the Tg. value. The polarized optical micrographs showed that PCL can serve as a nucleating agent to promote PLA crystallization in the PLA/PCL blend. Moreover, the PLA70PCL30 blend gave the largest growth rate of PLA spherulite. Finally, the mechanical property of PLA/PCL blends indicated that PLA can easily be tuned from rigid to ductile by the addition of PCL.