Novel Structure to Improve Mechanical Properties of Polymer Blends: Multilayered Ribbons

Abstract

Ribbon-like dispersed phase in polymer blends can provide excellent mechanical properties for the matrix, compared with the fibrillar or spherical dispersed phase. However, it is difficult to control the uniformity of size in the current preparation methods. In this work, polyethylene (PE)/PA11 alternating multilayered pellets were first obtained via multilayered coextrusion technology, and further novel multilayered ribbons with PA11 layers intercalated by PE layers were successfully constructed via secondary processing of the pellets. The morphology analysis showed that the formation of the novel multilayered ribbons was highly dependent on the thickness of the PA11 layer in the pellets, the adhesive strength of the layer interface, and the secondary processing temperature. When the PA11 layer thickness decreased to submicron, and the adhesive strength of the layer interface reached a certain level while the secondary processing temperature dropped to a certain degree, the multilayered ribbons with a uniform size could be obtained. The crystallinity of the PA11 layer in the multilayered ribbons could be increased by decreasing the secondary processing temperature. The yield strength and notch impact strength of the (PE/PEgMAH-50%)/PA11 blends with PA11/(PE/PEgMAH-50%) multilayered ribbons were 40 and 134% higher than those of the traditional pellet blends and were 64 and 26% higher than those of the corresponding matrix, respectively. This work provides a novel structure of a ribbon-like dispersed phase to improve the mechanical properties of polymer blends.

Recent Development of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)-Based Materials for Antibacterial Applications: A Review

“…Cellulose, starch, polylactide (PLA), PHAs, and polyhydroxy­butyrate (PHB) are the most considered biodegradable biopolymers. PLA and PHB are the most advantageous as they are extracted from sustainable materials. − However, due to their low elongation properties and high brittleness, these neat polymers are restrictive. Fernandes et al produced electrospun meshes of poly­(hydroxy­butyrate) (PHB) and poly­(hydroxy­butyrate)/poly­(ethylene oxide) (PHB/PEO).…”

A Journey from Processing to Recycling of Multilayer Waste Films: A Review of Main Challenges and Prospects

“…Coextrusion is an industrial process widely used to form multilayered sheets or films that are suitable for various products, ranging from food packaging, the medical area, and recently in microelectronic and nonlinear optics with more than thousands of layers [66,67]. Multilayered polymer systems are produced to satisfy specific requirements for high valueadded applications such as gas barrier films [68,69], mechanical robust systems [70][71][72][73], and optical applications [74][75][76]. The coextrusion is a process which combines multiple polymers via two or three extruders using a feedblock system, where the polymers melted (from separate extruders) are brought together [77].…”

Improvement of Natural Polymeric Films Properties by Blend Formulation for Sustainable Active Food Packaging

“…This technique, particularly useful in the case of proteins considering their functional groups, can be carried out through the use of chemical agents (formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, phenolic compounds), radiation treatment (UV or gamma rays), or through the use of enzymes (transglutaminase) [9][10][11]. In addition, it is possible to improve mechanical properties through the manufacture of composite films, multilayers, or polymeric blends, that allow the exploitation of the advantages of different polymers to create a product with better performance [12,13].…”