Compatibilization of water-soluble polyurethane/poly(lactic acid) blends upon addition of surface-modified CaCO3

Abstract

We report the fabrication of a polymer composite that is biodegradable and water-soluble. The soluble polymer, water-soluble polyurethane, was fabricated via the acetone process. The biodegradable aspect was obtained from poly(lactic acid) (PLA), which is a biodegradable polyester. The two polymers are made miscible by using glycidyl methacrylate (GM). The GM was binded to the surface of CaCO3 particles, which are used to improve the thermomechanical properties of the WPU/PLA blends. The binding of GM to the surface of the CaCO3 particles was confirmed by FTIR, FE-SEM, qualitatively and quantitatively using TGA. These three analyses have depicted the appearance and dispersion of GM groups on the surface of the CaCO3 particles. The miscibility of the fabricated composites was confirmed with FE-SEM, which displays a miscible polymer blend. The thermomechanical properties of the composites were analyzed with TGA and UTM. We have obtained a high thermal stability with good tensile strength and promising improvements in elongation at break composite. The polymer composite has also shown to be highly hydrophilic. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.