Preparation and Characterization of Poly(L-lactic acid) Films Plasticized with Glycerol and Maleic Anhydride

Abstract

In this study, poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was blended with glycerol as a plasticizer by the solution blending technique to form blend films. The glycerol content was varied in order to evaluate the effect of glycerol content on the PLLA properties and to obtain an optimum weight ratio of PLLA/glycerol (PLLA/Gly) blend films with improved properties. The effect of the addition of compatibilizer on the properties of the composite films was also observed. The properties of the films obtained were characterized by using FTIR, XRD, DMA and SEM. The FTIR spectra showed an increase in the intensity of the characteristic peak of glycerol with increasing glycerol content, indicating that the blending ratio and technique were precise. Based on the XRD analysis, the degree of crystallinity generally increased with the addition of glycerol. DMA analysis showed that the addition of glycerol reduced the value of tensile strength and Young's modulus of the PLLA/Gly films, but increased the elongation at break. The optimum weight ratio was reached by the sample of PLLA/Gly (80/20) with the value of tensile strength, Young's modulus and elongation at break being 13.43 MPa, 747.8 MPa and 1.96%, respectively. The addition of compatibilizer slightly increased the flexibility of the composite films. DSC analysis showed an increase in flexibility after the addition of glycerol, indicated by a decrease in Tg, which supports the results of the DMA analysis. SEM analysis was made of the porous morphology on the fracture surface of the films after the addition of glycerol; the porous structure was more pronounced in the PLLA/Gly (80/20) film with compatibilizer, which could therefore be considered for application as a scaffold in tissue engineering after further analysis has been conducted.

Effects of synthesised polyaniline (PAni) contents on the anti-static properties of PAni-based polylactic acid (PLA) films

“…The ester bond of PLA backbone tends to crosslink covalently to the glycerol and form a threedimensional network of random coils when interacting with PAni. 36,37 The mechanism in Scheme 1 was supported by the glycerol and sebacic acid research work done by Wang and coworkers. 38 Nonetheless, the hydrophilic character of glycerol with -OH group tends to repel each other in the polymer matrix due to the hydrophilic repulsion between the PAni and PLA.…”

Can Cryoprotectant’s modification in Spermatozoa Cryopreservation be an Alternative to Improve Embryo Quality? A Review

“…Based on the summary of table 1, it is known that glycerol is the best and most commonly used cryoprotectant for spermatozoa cryopreservation. Because of glycerol has hydroxyl groups (Ni'mah et al, 2019) so as to prevent the formation of ice crystals ( Hanifah et al, 2020;Hamidi, 2010).…”

Cellulose Acetate/Polyethylene Glycol Composite Beads for Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue

“…The addition of PEG200 is expected to modify the morphology of cellulose beads. PEG200 was reported by Ni'mah et al, [11] to have an effect of promoting the formation of pores in PLLA structure. Therefore, in this current study, the effect of PEG200 addition in CA matrix in the formation of cellulose beads was evaluated on the adsorption of MB.…”

“…However, the pore size in cellulose beads become bigger after the addition of PLLA, contributing to better adsorption performance. The utilization of PLLA in the blend was motivated by its moderate properties such as biodegradability and excellent mechanical properties [10,11]. Thus, the composite beads are also biodegradable and better in mechanical properties.…”