Improvement of properties of polylactic acid/polypropylene carbonate blends using epoxy soybean oil as an efficient compatibilizer

Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) was used as a compatibilizer and blended with polylactic acid (PLA) and polypropylene carbonate (PPC) resin to prepare a series of PLA/PPC/ESO blends with varying compositions. The influence of the variation in the amount of ESO added to the blend system on the thermal properties, optical properties, rheological properties, mechanical properties, and microscopic morphology of the blends was studied. The research indicates that ESO can react with PLA and PPC to form a chemical bond interface, which improves the compatibility of PLA and PPC to a certain extent. With the increase in the amount of ESO added to the blend (1– 5 phr), the complete decomposition temperature, storage modulus, loss modulus, complex viscosity, notched impact strength, and elongation at break of the blend all show a trend of continuous increase. At the same time, the melt flow rate, light transmittance, and tensile strength of the blend do not show significant fluctuations. When the amount of ESO in the system is 5 phr, compared with the PLA/PPC blend, the notched impact strength and elongation at break of the PLA/PPC/ESO blend increase from 4270.3 J/m2, 43.89 % to 8560.4 J/m2, 211.28 %, respectively, and its tensile strength and transmittance still remain around 63 MPa, 92 %. This improves the toughness of the blend while maintaining its rigidity, demonstrating excellent mechanical and optical properties. At this time, the microscopic morphology of the fracture surface of the impact sample also shows obvious characteristics of tough fracture. However, when the amount of ESO added to the blend is excessive (6 phr), the compatibility of the blending system decreases, which will degrade the performance of the blending material and ultimately destroy the phase morphology of the blend and reduce its mechanical properties.