Thermal, mechanical, and rheological properties of plasticized poly(L-lactic acid)

Polylactide (PLA) is an attractive candidate for replacing petrochemical polymers because it is biodegradable. In this study, a specific PLA 2002D was melt‐mixed with a new plasticizer: glycerol monostearate (GMS). The PLA/GMS blends with different ratios were analyzed by dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Although a slightly phase separation can be seen in DSC curves, the SEM micrographs of the impact fracture surfaces of PLA/GMS blends had a relatively good separation and this phenomenon was in good agreement with their higher impact strength. The result showed that the adding of GMS has enhanced the flexibility of PLA/GMS blends as compared to neat PLA. The relationship between complex viscosity and angular frequency of the PLA/GMS blends exhibits that the melt viscosity substantially lower than that of neat PLA. For example, at 10 rad/s, the melt viscosity of PLA/GMS (85/15) was reduced by about 7.2% compared to that of neat PLA. The impact strength was changed from 4.7 KJ/m2 for neat PLA to 48.2 KJ/m2 for 70/30 PLA/GMS blend. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013