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Toughening Poly(lactic acid) with Imidazolium-based Elastomeric Ionomers

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Abstract

Imidazolium-based elastomeric ionomers (i-BIIR) were facilely synthesized by ionically modified brominated poly(isobutylene-co-isoprene) (BIIR) with different alkyl chain imidazole and thoroughly explored as novel toughening agents for poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The miscibility, thermal behavior, phase morphology and mechanical property of ionomers and blends were investigated through dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile and impact testing. DMA and SEM results showed that better compatibility between the PLA and i-BIIR was achieved compared to the PLA/unmodified BIIR elastomer. A remarkable improvement in ductility with an optimum elongation at break up to 235% was achieved for the PLA/i-BIIR blends with 1-dodecylimidazole alkyl chain (i-BIIR-12), more than 10 times higher than that of pure PLA. The impact strengths of PLA were enhanced from 1.9 kJ/m2 to 4.1 kJ/m2 for the PLA/10 wt% i-BIIR-12 blend. Toughening mechanism had been established by systematical analysis of the compatibility, intermolecular interaction and phase structures of the blends. Interfacial cavitations initiated massive shear yielding of the PLA matrix owing to a suitable interfacial adhesion which played a key role in the enormous toughening effect in these blends. We believed that introducing imidazolium group into the BIIR elastomer was vital for the formation of a suitable interfacial adhesion.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51573130).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Lu Chen, Kuan Hu, Li Pan & Yue-Sheng Li

  2. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Si-Ting Sun, Hai Jiang, Dong Huang & Kun-Yu Zhang

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China

    Yue-Sheng Li

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  1. Lu Chen
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  2. Kuan Hu
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  3. Si-Ting Sun
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  4. Hai Jiang
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  5. Dong Huang
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  6. Kun-Yu Zhang
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  7. Li Pan
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Correspondence to Kun-Yu Zhang or Yue-Sheng Li.

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Chen, L., Hu, K., Sun, ST. et al. Toughening Poly(lactic acid) with Imidazolium-based Elastomeric Ionomers. Chin J Polym Sci 36, 1342–1352 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-018-2143-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-018-2143-6

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