Manufacture of a homogenous nano-diamond/poly (lactic acid) bio-engineered composite

A novel nanocomposite based on nanodiamond (ND) powder and Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) for potential bio-engineered applications was fabricated for the first time by using melting compound methods. Its structure and mechanical properties were investigated by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile property test. The results showed that as compared with pure PLA, ND/PLA nanocomposites possessed higher modulus, higher strength and comparable elongation at break, in other words, the mechanical properties of PLA were significantly improved by incorporating ND powder into it. This is presumably due to homogeneous dispersion of ND cluster, good interfacial bonding and unique ND bridge structures in the ND/PLA nanocomposites