Green composites of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and waste cellulose fibers (WCF) were produced by using a facile technique comprising high-shear mixing within relatively short processing times that facilitates the ease of processing of such materials and ensures the homogeneous dispersion of such fibers in thermoplastics due to shear rates as high as 5200 rpm. Key parameters, such as optimal concentrations, homogeneous dispersion, direct and indirect mechanical contributions of the fibers, interfacial interactions, and crystallinity of the PLA matrix, were examined for the sustainable production of PLA/WCF green composites with enhanced stiffness, strength, toughness, and impact resistance. Briefly, around one-fold, 50%, and 20% increase in the elastic modulus, tensile strength, and impact strength of PLA, respectively, were achieved by the addition of 30 wt % WCF. In addition, an 87% increase in the impact strength of PLA was also achieved by the incorporation of 5 wt % WCF.

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The production of petroleum‐based polymers in huge amounts is perilous for our ecosystem and oil reserves. The use of biodegradable polymers instead of synthetic polymers for various commodity, engineering, and biomedical applications remains the overriding concern of the researchers in last decades. Although poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is considered to be the most befitting substitute for conventional petroleum‐based products because of its superlative mechanical properties, material & processing cost, and non‐toxicity, they have some consequential limitations for various applications because of their slow rate of crystallization, low thermal stability, high brittleness, and low toughness. To overwhelm these deficiencies during the last two decades, researchers have developed various techniques to tailor the properties of PLA, that is, blending with other polymers or using additives such as nanofillers. Among all the nanofillers, for example, carbon nanotubes and organoclays, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) was found the most promising nanofiller because of its organic and inorganic nanostructure and fine dispersion into PLA matrix. This article reviews all the investigations relevant to POSS incorporation into PLA or blends of PLA with other polymers to compare the mechanical, morphological, and physical properties of the ameliorated composites and the neat PLA.

Environmentally friendly, biodegradable composites were prepared via overmolding of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) onto PLA/jute‐mat, named as “ecosheets,” reinforced continuous fiber composite sheets. Film stacking procedure was used to prepare ecosheets via using a hot‐press. The fiber orientation was changed as −45°/+45° and 0°/0°. −45°/+45° orientation exhibited higher properties as compared to 0°/0° for ecosheets; therefore, this construction was used to produce overmolded composites (OMCs). The mechanical tests showed that flexural modulus and strength of OMCs were improved in comparison to neat PLA. The dynamic mechanical analysis exhibited that the thermomechanical resistance of PLA was enhanced for OMCs. Scanning electron microscopy investigation showed that the jute/PLA interphase needs to be improved to further increase the properties. It was concluded that one of the biggest advantages of this novel technique was the increase of mechanical properties of PLA without altering the density. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 137, 48692.