Effect of compatibilisers on thermal and morphological properties of polylactic acid/natural rubber blends

In this study, the effects of compatibilisers on morphology, mechanical and thermal properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/natural rubber (NR) blends were determined with the composition of 95/5 (designated as PLA95/NR5). The PLA95/NR5 blend was incorporated with two different compatibilisers maleated polylactic acid (PLA-g-MA) and maleated natural rubber (NR-g-MA) at various loadings (1-10 phr) and compounding was prepared using twin screw extruder. The samples were then characterised using DSC, SEM and DMA. The SEM results showed better interfacial adhesion between PLA and NR phases was achieved upon addition of 3 phr PLA-g-MA. In all cases, further increased PLA-g-MA and NR-g-MA up to 5 phr and 10 phr, respectively in the PLA95/NR5 blend caused the blend stiffness to decrease as decreasing in degree of crystallinity of PLA showed in DSC analysis