caa a22 4500 467886288 CHVBK 20180406152735.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20060101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10924-005-8706-y doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10924-005-8706-y Reactively Compatibilized Cellulosic Polylactide Microcomposites [Elektronische Daten] [Birgit Braun, John Dorgan, Daniel Knauss] Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) possesses a suite of favorable material properties that are enabling its penetration into diverse markets (e.g., as packaging material or textile fibers). In order to increase the range of applications for this material, it is necessary to modify its properties and for certain applications, reduce its cost. The introduction of fibers into a polymeric matrix is an established route towards property enhancement provided good dispersion and intimate interfacial adhesion can be achieved. In addition, cellulosic microfibers are obtainable at low to moderate cost. In this study, reactive compatibilization of cellulosic fibers with PLA is pursued. Hydroxyl groups available on the surface of cellulosic fibers are used to initiate lactide polymerization. Various processing strategies are investigated: (1) blending preformed PLA with the fiber material, (2) through a one-step process in which lactide is polymerized in the presence of the fibers alone, or (3) reactive compatibilization in the presence of preformed high molecular weight polymer. The results show that materials prepared by simultaneous introduction of lactide and preformed high molecular PLA at the beginning of the reaction possess superior mechanical properties compared to composites made by either purely mechanical mixing or solely polymerization of lactide in the presence of fibers. The modulus of materials containing 25% fibers which are prepared by reactive compatibilization of 30% preformed PLA and 70% lactide (30/70 P/L) improves by 53% compared to the homopolymer, whereas 36% reinforcement can be achieved upon purely mechanical mixing. A further increase to 35% fiber loading leads to a reduction in modulus due to an excess in initiating groups. The same trend was observed in systems containing 65% preformed PLA and 35% lactide (65/35 P/L) with an overall achievable reinforcement that was slightly lower. Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006 Reactive compatibilization nationallicence PLA microcomposites nationallicence cellulose fibers nationallicence Braun Birgit Department for Chemical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut Dorgan John Department for Chemical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut Knauss Daniel Department for Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut Journal of Polymers and the Environment Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers 14/1(2006-01-01), 49-58 1566-2543 14:1<49 2006 14 10924 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-005-8706-y text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-005-8706-y text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Braun Birgit Department for Chemical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Dorgan John Department for Chemical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Knauss Daniel Department for Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, 80401, Golden, CO, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Polymers and the Environment Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers 14/1(2006-01-01), 49-58 1566-2543 14:1<49 2006 14 10924 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer