Kinetics of the thermal degradation of poly(Lactic acid) and polyamide bioblends

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and biosourced polyamide (PA) bioblends, with a variable PA weight content of 10–50%, were prepared by melt blending in order to overcome the high brittleness of PLA. During processing, the properties of the melt were stabilized and enhanced by the addition of a styrene-acryl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Carrasco, Félix, Santana Pérez, Orlando Onofre|||0000-0003-3040-6848, Maspoch Rulduà, M. Lluïsa|||0000-0002-4813-6412
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/363016
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/363016
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym13223996
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Polymers
PLA
PA
Bioblend
Thermal stability
Kinetic models
Reaction mechanisms
Random scission
Polímers
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria dels materials
Descripción
Sumario:Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and biosourced polyamide (PA) bioblends, with a variable PA weight content of 10–50%, were prepared by melt blending in order to overcome the high brittleness of PLA. During processing, the properties of the melt were stabilized and enhanced by the addition of a styrene-acrylic multi-functional-epoxide oligomeric reactive agent (SAmfE). The general analytical equation (GAE) was used to evaluate the kinetic parameters of the thermal degradation of PLA within bioblends. Various empirical and theoretical solid-state mechanisms were tested to find the best kinetic model. In order to study the effect of PA on the PLA matrix, only the first stage of the thermal degradation was taken into consideration in the kinetic analysis (a < 0.4). On the other hand, standardized conversion functions were evaluated. Given that it is not easy to visualize the best accordance between experimental and theoretical values of standardized conversion functions, an index, based on the integral mean error, was evaluated to quantitatively support our findings relative to the best reaction mechanism. It was demonstrated that the most probable mechanism for the thermal degradation of PLA is the random scission of macromolecular chains. Moreover, y(a) master plots, which are independent of activation energy values, were used to confirm that the selected reaction mechanism was the most adequate. Activation energy values were calculated as a function of PA content. Moreover, the onset thermal stability of PLA was also determined.