Synthesis of biodegradable and flexible, polylactic acid based, thermoplastic polyurethane with high gas barrier properties

Ali, Fathilah and Kang, Dong Jin and Kim, Minsoo P and Cho, Chul-Hee and Kim, Bumjoon J (2014) Synthesis of biodegradable and flexible, polylactic acid based, thermoplastic polyurethane with high gas barrier properties. Polymer International, 63 (6). pp. 1620-1626. ISSN 1097-0126

PDF - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (305kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA) has the beneficial properties of good mechanical strength, biodegradability and biocompatibility, and these properties make it suitable for use as an environmentally friendly packagingmaterial. However, its use has been limited by its brittleness and poor stability. In this work, we successfully developed an efficient synthesis scheme to improve the mechanical properties, flexibility and gas barrier properties of PLA-based polymers. Four different PLA-based thermoplastic polyurethane (PLAPU) polymerswere synthesized through the reaction of PLA diolwith hexamethylene diisocyanate, followed by chain extension with polycaprolactone (PCL) diol. The relative compositions of the hard PLA and the soft PCL diols in the PLAPU polymers were controlled systematically to optimize the physical properties of the polymers. For example, increasing the content of PCL resulted in higher molecular weight PLAPU polymers that had increased tensile strengths and elongations at break, but their moduli were decreased. At the optimized PLA:PCL ratio of 1:3, the PLAPU polymer had an excellent elongation at break of1053%with a relatively high Young’s modulus of 51.8 MPa. In addition, the gas barrier properties of the PLAPUswere significantly enhanced depending on the molecular weight and PCL content of the polymers. To demonstrate the feasibility of using PLAPU polymers for biodegradable packaging materials, hydrolytic degradation tests were performed in phosphate buffer solution, and the PLAPU polymers were degraded gradually at rates that depended on the content of PCL in the polymers. This optimized PLAPU polymer exhibited excellent flexibility and gas barrier property, as well as high elongation, demonstrating its potential utility as packagingmaterials.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	5439/37362
Uncontrolled Keywords:	polylactic acid (PLA); polycaprolactone (PCL); PLA-based thermoplastic polyurethane (PLAPU); chain extender; packaging material; gas permeability
Subjects:	T Technology > TP Chemical technology > TP1080 Polymers, plastics and their manufacture
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Engineering
Depositing User:	Dr Fathilah Ali
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2014 11:10
Last Modified:	19 Jun 2018 09:31
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/37362

Actions (login required)

View Item