Phase Morphology, Crystallization Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Poly(L-lactide) Toughened with Biodegradable Polyurethane: Effect of Composition and Hard Segment Ratio

Polyester-based biodegradable polyurethane （PU） with different hard segment ratios was selected to modify the impact toughness of poly（L-lactide） （PLLA）. The influence of blending composition and hard segment ratio of PU on the phase morphology, crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of PLLA/PU blends has been investigated systematically. The results showed that the PU particles were uniformly dispersed in PLLA matrix at a scale from sub- microns to several microns. The glass transition temperature of PU within these blends decreased compared to that of neat PU, but rose slightly with its content and hard segment ratio. The presence of PU retarded the crystallization ability of PLLA, whereas enhanced its elongation at break and impact resistance effectively. As the PU content reaches up to 30 wt%, the phenomenon of brittle-ductile transition occurred, resulting in a rougher fracture surface with the formation of fibril-like structure. Moreover, under the same concentrations, the elongation at break and impact strength of PLLA blends decreased slightly with the increase of hard segment ratio of PU.

DEFORMATION INVESTIGATION ON iPP/SiO_2 COMPOSITES: INFLUENCE OF STRETCHING TEMPERATURE AND PARTICLE SIZE ON MORPHOLOGY EVOLUTION AND CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF THIN FILMS

In the present work, structure changes during （SiO2） composites have been investigated systematically stretching of isotactic polypropylene （iPP） and iPP/silicon dioxide The or-form crystal structure of both iPP and iPP/SiO2 composites is destroyed and transforms into the mesophase as the samples are stretched at a low temperature （35℃）, while stretching at high temperatures （90℃ and 120℃） can restrain the appearance of defects and keep the perfection of crystal structure. FTIR results reveal that the stretching temperatures show no obvious difference of the effect on the orientation of pure iPP, however, the orientation of iPP/SiO2 composites is greatly changed by the tensile temperature. In the case of micron-sized SiO2 particles （average particle diameter d 〉 1 μm）, the orientation of the composites is lower than that of pure iPP at all stretching temperatures. The above results suggest that the stretching temperature and the SiO2 particle size have great influence on the structure variation and orientation behavior of iPP/SiO2 composites.