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Thermal crosslinking of polylactide/star-shaped polycaprolactone for toughening and resistance to thermal deformation

Polymer Journal volume 54, pages 83–90 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The applications of polylactic acid (PLA) are limited by its brittleness and poor thermal resistance. Here, the toughness of PLA and its resistance to thermal deformation were enhanced by crosslinking it with star-shaped polycaprolactone using dicumyl peroxide as a thermal initiator. The mechanical properties of the blended and crosslinked films were investigated via tensile testing. The crosslinked films of PLA/st4PCL-G exhibited toughness 1.2 times greater than that of neat PLA. The resistance to thermal deformation was investigated in a hot oven and in hot water. Although the glass-transition temperature (Tg) of the crosslinked films was lower than that of neat PLA, the crosslinked films exhibited resistance to thermal deformation and maintained shape stability without any shrinkage or distortion at temperatures greater than Tg.

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Acknowledgements

PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand, supported this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Chantiga Choochottiros

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  1. Chantiga Choochottiros
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Chantiga Choochottiros: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Validation; Visualization;Roles/Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing.

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Correspondence to Chantiga Choochottiros.

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Choochottiros, C. Thermal crosslinking of polylactide/star-shaped polycaprolactone for toughening and resistance to thermal deformation. Polym J 54, 83–90 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-021-00565-0

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