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The present research investigates the effect of photoinduced grafting reaction on the bulk properties of melt processed poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA)-poly[(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyhexanoate)] (PHBHHx) blend films. PLA-PHBHHx blend films, comprising 10 wt % PHBHHx showed a remarkable toughness improvement. From dynamic mechanical analysis of melt processed PLA-PHBHHx blend films, the blend appears to be noncompatible. Unfortunately, PLA-PHBHHx blend films underwent rapid physical aging as characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, resulting in a significant toughness loss. Physically aged films regained the original toughness on annealing at 60 degrees C for 30 min. Annealed PLA-PHBHHx blend films also underwent physical aging leading to a significant toughness loss. Hydrophilic monomers like acrylic acid and acrylamide were successfully photopolymerized from the film surface using a sequential, two-step photografting approach. The resultant films were characterized using water contact angle goniometry, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, and mechanical testing. PLA-PHBHHx blend films lost their toughness significantly on surface modification and this was assigned to UV-assisted solvent induced crystallization as characterized using wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) toughening is often associated with significant modulus and/or strength losses making it unsuitable for many consumer and biomedical applications. The major objective of this research was to toughen PLA without significant loss in modulus and strength and to introduce reactive acid groups using reactive blending of PLA with a combination of polymers. PLA was reactive blended with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) followed by physical blending with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in solution. The modified PLA was extruded into films using a co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder and characterized using tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA). This technology resulted in films with a ten‐fold increase in toughness compared to neat PLA with little or no decrease in strength and modulus.magnified image

The major objective of this research was to modify the surface properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) films by using a sequential two-step photografting approach. In step 1, benzophenone was photografted on the film surface and in step 2, hydrophilic monomers acrylamide and acrylic acid were photopolymerized from the film surfaces. Another objective was to study the effect of the reaction solvent in step 2 on surface and bulk properties of these films. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and water contact angle goniometry were used to characterize the resultant film surfaces. When ethanol was used as the solvent in step 2, there was significant penetration of the monomers into the films, and bulk properties such as toughness and percent elongation at break were drastically affected. The penetration of these monomers into the bulk was characterized using transmission FTIR microspectroscopy. Microtomed sections of the surface-modified films were placed in a diamond compression cell to perform the FTIR microspectroscopic analyses. The observed monomer penetration into the films was successfully reduced by using water instead of ethanol in step 2, and resultant films showed higher toughness and percent elongation at break than films surface-modified using ethanol as a solvent in step 2.

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