Morphology and Rheological Properties of Poly (Butylene Adipate-Co-Terephthalate) and Poly (Lactic Acid)/Clay Composites

This work studied Poly(butylene adipateco-terephthalate) (PBAT) and polylactide (PLA) bends compounded with organically modified silicate layers. PBAT is a biodegradable polymer with high ultimate elongation but low modulus. Compounds of 80%PBAT, 20%PLA and 3% organically modified silicate layers showed significantly improved modulus and enhanced thermomechanical performance compared to PBAT. Rheological analyses showed solid-like behavior for the melt, indicating formation of a network structure by the particles in the blend although the clay platelets were partially dispersed in PBAT matrix and a large portion of the platelets was located at the interface based on the electron microscopy analysis. It also showed that the addition of organoclay reduced the dispersed phase domain (i.e., PLA) size significantly