Dynamically vulcanized biobased polylactide/natural rubber blend material with continuous cross-linked rubber phase

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Dynamic vulcanization is a common technique for creating polymer blends.
• Traditional dynamic vulcanization of immiscible blends often results in a sea-island morphology.
• Polylactide (PLA) and natural rubber (NR) are biobased polymers with potential for sustainable material development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare a novel biobased material from polylactide (PLA) and natural rubber (NR) using dynamic vulcanization.
• To investigate the morphology of the dynamically vulcanized PLA/NR blend.
• To challenge the conventional sea-island morphology concept in dynamically vulcanized blends.

Main Methods:

• Dynamic vulcanization of polylactide (PLA) and natural rubber (NR) blends.
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphological analysis.
• Dissolution and swelling experiments to confirm phase continuity.

Main Results:

• A biobased material comprising a dynamically vulcanized polylactide (PLA)/natural rubber (NR) blend was successfully prepared.
• The cross-linked natural rubber (NR) phase exhibited a continuous network-like dispersion, deviating from the typical sea-island morphology.
• Direct evidence for the continuous cross-linked NR phase was obtained through scanning electron microscopy and dissolution/swell experiments.

Conclusions:

• The study reports a novel structure in dynamically vulcanized PLA/NR blends, characterized by a continuous cross-linked NR phase.
• This finding represents a significant departure from the established understanding of morphology in dynamically vulcanized polymer blends.
• The newly developed biobased material with its unique structure holds promise for diverse functional applications.