Rheological and mechanical properties of biodegradable nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites have gained huge interest over the last decade. However, traditional thermoplastic nanocomposites do not match the rising concern about environmental issues. Therefore, during the last years, the search for biodegradable polymer nanocomposites is gaining importance. Most of biobased (i.e. based on biodegradable/bioderived polymer matrices) nanocomposites have poly(lactic acid), PLA, as matrix. However, it is of clear interest to take into account also different biobased polymer matrices, such as MaterBi. In this work, we prepared bionanocomposites containing MaterBi or a PLA-based polymer matrix, with two different kinds of nanofillers (organomodified clay and nanosized calcium carbonate) and compared them, also with regard to reference nanocomposites based on the same fillers but with a standard HDPE matrix. Characterization included mechanical, rheological and morphological tests, showing that bionanocomposites can be considered as potential replacements for traditional nanocomposites.