Ethylene brassylate as a biobased plasticizer for poly(lactic acid): Evaluation of mechanical, thermal, and biodegradation properties
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a bio-based polymer with high potential; however, its inherent brittleness restricts its practical applications. This work evaluates ethylene brassylate (EB), a macrocyclic diester of natural origin, as a plasticizer for PLA at 5–20 wt%. Thermal analysis confirmed a plasti...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/411216 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/411216 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105020834604 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Biodegradation Ethylene Brassylate Plasticizer Polylactide Toughness |
| Sumario: | Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a bio-based polymer with high potential; however, its inherent brittleness restricts its practical applications. This work evaluates ethylene brassylate (EB), a macrocyclic diester of natural origin, as a plasticizer for PLA at 5–20 wt%. Thermal analysis confirmed a plasticizing effect, with the glass transition temperature decreasing from 59.9 °C in neat PLA to 38.0 °C in PLA-20 EB. Mechanical tests showed that 20 wt% EB increased elongation at break from 10 % (neat PLA) to over 460 % and improved impact resistance by ∼70 %. Furthermore, moisture resistance was preserved, and microscopy confirmed good miscibility with no phase separation. Under composting, degradation occurs more rapidly in proportion to EB content, reaching ∼90 % mass loss after four weeks. Migration tests revealed values below 40 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> for PLA-EB < 10 wt% EB, whereas PLA-15 EB reached the regulatory limit. EB is therefore an efficient bio-based plasticizer for PLA, offering enhanced ductility, toughness, and biodegradation, with promising applications in sustainable packaging, especially for refrigerated and cold-chain storage. |
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