scholarly journals Crystalline Characteristics, Mechanical Properties, Thermal Degradation Kinetics and Hydration Behavior of Biodegradable Fibers Melt-Spun from Polyoxymethylene/Poly(l-lactic acid) Blends

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1753
Author(s):  
Jianhua Li ◽  
Yatao Wang ◽  
Xiaodong Wang ◽  
Dezhen Wu

A series of polyoxymethylene (POM)/poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) blends were prepared by melt extrusion, and their spinnability was confirmed by rheological characterizations, successive self-nucleation, and annealing thermal fractionation analysis. The bicomponent fibers were prepared by means of the melt-spinning and post-drawing technologies using the above-obtained blends, and their morphology, crystalline orientation characteristics, mechanical performance, hydration behavior, and thermal degradation kinetics were studied extensively. The bicomponent fibers exhibited a uniform diameter distribution and compact texture at the ultimate draw ratio. Although the presence of PLLA reduced the crystallinity of the POM domain in the bicomponent fibers, the post-drawing process promoted the crystalline orientation of lamellar folded-chain crystallites due to the stress-induced crystallization effect and enhanced the crystallinity of the POM domain accordingly. As a result, the bicomponent fibers achieved the relatively high tensile strength of 791 MPa. The bicomponent fibers exhibited a partial hydration capability in both acid and alkali media and therefore could meet the requirement for serving as a type of biodegradable fibers. The introduction of PLLA slightly reduced the thermo-oxidative aging property and thermal stability of the bicomponent fibers. Such a combination of two polymers shortened the thermal lifetime of the bicomponent fibers, which could facilitate their natural degradation for ecological and sustainable applications.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002199832110082
Author(s):  
Azzeddine Gharsallah ◽  
Abdelheq Layachi ◽  
Ali Louaer ◽  
Hamid Satha

This paper reports the effect of lignocellulosic flour and talc powder on the thermal degradation behavior of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Lignocellulosic flour was obtained by grinding Opuntia Ficus Indica cladodes. PLA/talc/ Opuntia Ficus Indica flour (OFI-F) biocomposites were prepared by melt processing and characterized using Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The thermal degradation of neat PLA and its biocomposites can be identified quantitatively by solid-state kinetics models. Thermal degradation results on biocomposites compared to neat PLA show that talc particles at 10 wt % into the PLA matrix have a minor impact on the thermal stability of biocomposites. Loading OFI-F and Talc/OFI-F mixture into the PLA matrix results in a decrease in the maximum degradation temperature, which means that the biocomposites have lower thermal stability. The activation energies (Ea) calculated by the Flynn Wall Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger Akahira Sunose (KAS) model-free approaches and by model-fitting (Kissinger method and Coats-Redfern method) are in good agreement with one another. In addition, in this work, the degradation mechanism of biocomposites is proposed using Coats-Redfern and Criado methods.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 773-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Madhu ◽  
Dev K Mandal ◽  
Haripada Bhunia ◽  
Pramod K Bajpai

In this work, a kinetic study on the thermal degradation of films prepared from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) and their blends is presented. Activation energy ( Ea), order of reaction ( n) and frequency factor (ln ( A)) were studied through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) over a temperature range of 25–600°C at four heating rates, that is, 5, 10, 15, and 20°C min−1. The TGA data were used to predict the thermal stability of the film samples, comparing the kinetic parameters obtained by three model-free isoconversional techniques and estimating the lifetime of the films. The value of Ea for neat HDPE was found to be much higher than that for PLLA, but for HDPE/PLLA blends, it was nearer to that of HDPE. An increase in Ea of 80/20 (HDPE/PLLA) blends was noticed with the addition of compatibilizer, maleic anhydride-grafted HDPE. Overall, the thermal kinetics of the polymer samples depends on fractions of their constituents, heating rates and calculation technique used. It was proved, through lifetime estimation method, that the lifetime of neat HDPE decreases by addition of PLLA. With increase in temperature, the lifetime of all samples decreased exponentially. Scanning electron microscopy studies verified that HDPE and PLLA interfaces became fairly compatible by adding the compatibilizer.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1597
Author(s):  
Iman Jafari ◽  
Mohamadreza Shakiba ◽  
Fatemeh Khosravi ◽  
Seeram Ramakrishna ◽  
Ehsan Abasi ◽  
...  

The incorporation of nanofillers such as graphene into polymers has shown significant improvements in mechanical characteristics, thermal stability, and conductivity of resulting polymeric nanocomposites. To this aim, the influence of incorporation of graphene nanosheets into ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) on the thermal behavior and degradation kinetics of UHMWPE/graphene nanocomposites was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that graphene nanosheets were uniformly spread throughout the UHMWPE’s molecular chains. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data posited that the morphology of dispersed graphene sheets in UHMWPE was exfoliated. Non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies identified a more pronounced increase in melting temperatures and latent heat of fusions in nanocomposites compared to UHMWPE at lower concentrations of graphene. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) revealed that UHMWPE’s thermal stability has been improved via incorporating graphene nanosheets. Further, degradation kinetics of neat polymer and nanocomposites have been modeled using equations such as Friedman, Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW), Kissinger, and Augis and Bennett’s. The "Model-Fitting Method” showed that the auto-catalytic nth-order mechanism provided a highly consistent and appropriate fit to describe the degradation mechanism of UHMWPE and its graphene nanocomposites. In addition, the calculated activation energy (Ea) of thermal degradation was enhanced by an increase in graphene concentration up to 2.1 wt.%, followed by a decrease in higher graphene content.


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