Thermal and Mechanical Properties of PLA/ABS/TCS Polymer Blend Composites

In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) are, respectively, blended in 70/30, 50/50 and 30/70 ratios to form polymer blends, and tapioca cassava starch (TCS) is added at concentrations of 10, 15 and 20% to form PLA/ABS/TCS blend combinations, respectively. Thermal (DSC and TGA), morphological and tensile properties of these composite were investigated. PLA/ABS and PLA/ABS/TCS blends are miscible as indicated by single melting peaks in the DSC. The DSC results reveal that the TCS is primarily concentrated in the PLA phase of the PLA/ABS blends. TGA results show that the PLA/ABS blends are more thermal stable than the pure PLA polymer. The PLA/ABS/TCS blends also show same thermally stability like as PLA/ABS blends. Tensile results show that the PLA/ABS/TCS blends have superior mechanical properties, probably because of the more even distribution of ABS amongst PLA and TCS.