• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.24 no.2_1
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• pp.79-89
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• 2021

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is considered as one of the most promising bio-based polymers due to its high strength, high modulus, good processability, transparency after processing, and commercial availability. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical, thermal, and migration properties of poly(lactic acid)/zeolite (10 phr) composites prepared with various biocompatible plasticizers, such as triethyl citrate(TEC), tributyl citrate(TBC), and poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG400), through differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis(TGA) and standard tensile testing. The incorporation of PEG400 significantly increased the elongation at break, and DSC results showed that the addition of plasticizers drastically decreased the T_g of PLA/zeolite composites and improved the melt flow and processability. Besides, it was found from TGA results that PLA/zeolites composites plasticized by TEC and TBC were more easily to be thermally degraded than the composites plasticized by PEG400.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.477-483
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• 2014

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) blends with various components for melt-blown non-wovens were prepared by a twin-screw extruder. Tributyl citrate (TBC) was added in order to improve the miscibility between PLA and PCL. The results showed that small circular particles of PCL were dispersed in PLA matrix uniformly. The addition of PCL had the heterogeneous nucleation effect on the crystallization of PLA and decreased thermal stability of PLA. The flow of pure PLA and blends approached to Newtonian liquid at a low shear rate and expressed more obvious viscoelasticity at a high shear rate.