Effect of Filler Content on the Morphology and Physical Properties of Poly(Lactic Acid)-Hydroxyapatite Composites

The effect of hydroxyapatite (HAp) synthesized by the chemical precipitation process on the morphology and properties of composites based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated at various filler content ratios, i.e., 5, 10 and 15 wt%. Both neat PLA and PLA-based composites were first prepared using the solvent casting method, followed by melt compounding in an internal mixer, whereas tensile specimens were obtained by thermo-compression. The study revealed that the addition of 5 wt% of HAp into the PLA led to a slight improvement in both the thermal stability and tensile properties of the composite material in comparison with neat PLA and other composite samples. Indeed, the values of the tensile strength and modulus increased from approximately 61 MPa and 2.9 GPa for the neat PLA to almost 64 MPa and 3.057 GPa for the composite sample, respectively. Moreover, the degradation temperature at a 5 wt% mass loss also increased by almost 5 °C compared to other samples, due probably to a finer dispersion of the HAp particles in the PLA, as observed under a scanning electron microscope. Furthermore, the FT-IR spectra displayed some changes in the chemical structure of the PLA/HAp (5 wt%), indicating the occurrence of filler-matrix interactions. At a higher filler content ratio, a decrease in the properties of the PLA/HAp composites was observed, being more pronounced at 15 wt%. The PLA composite containing 5 wt% HAp presents the best compromise among the investigated properties. The study highlighted the possibility of using HAp without any prior surface treatment as a reinforcement in PLA composite materials.