Research on Properties of PBAT/CaCO₃ Composite Films Modified with Titanate Coupling Agent

High cost, low crystallinity, and low-melt strength limit the market application of the biodegradable material poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), which has become a major obstacle to the promotion of PBAT products. Herein, with PBAT as resin matrix and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) as filler, PBAT/CaCO₃ composite films were designed and prepared with a twin-screw extruder and single-screw extrusion blow-molding machine designed, and the effects of particle size (1250 mesh, 2000 mesh), particle content (0-36%) and titanate coupling agent (TC) surface modification of CaCO₃ on the properties of PBAT/CaCO₃ composite film were investigated. The results showed that the size and content of CaCO₃ particles had a significant effect on the tensile properties of the composites. The addition of unmodified CaCO₃ decreased the tensile properties of the composites by more than 30%. TC-modified CaCO₃ improved the overall performance of PBAT/CaCO₃ composite films. The thermal analysis showed that the addition of titanate coupling agent 201 (TC-2) increased the decomposition temperature of CaCO₃ from 533.9 °C to 566.1 °C, thereby enhancing the thermal stability of the material. Due to the heterogeneous nucleation of CaCO₃, the addition of modified CaCO₃ raised the crystallization temperature of the film from 97.51 °C to 99.67 °C and increased the degree of crystallization from 7.09% to 14.83%. The tensile property test results showed that the film reached the maximum tensile strength of 20.55 MPa with the addition of TC-2 at 1%. The results of contact angle, water absorption, and water vapor transmission performance tests showed that TC-2 modified CaCO₃ increased the water contact angle of the composite film from 85.7° to 94.6° and decreased the water absorption from 13% to 1%. When the additional amount of TC-2 was 1%, the water vapor transmission rate of the composites was reduced by 27.99%, and the water vapor permeability coefficient was reduced by 43.19%.