Toughening of polylactide by reactive blending with natural rubber

Crosslinked polylactide/natural rubber (PLA/NR) blends were fabricated by reactive blending in a Hakke internal mixer using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as crosslinking agent. The effect of DCP on the melt torque, morphology, crystallization, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the PLA/NR composites was studied in detail. The results show that the addition of DCP induces crosslinking of the PLA/NR blend system, leading to an increased melt torque value. DCP has an insignificant impact on the thermal stability of the blends. The PLA/NR blend shows the highest degree of crystallinity when DCP is added at a concentration of 0.5%, and the impact strength also reaches the maximum value, which is 3 times that of pure PLA. When 2% DCP is introduced, the blend shows a co-continuous phase, and the elongation at break reaches the maximum point, which is improved by 50% as compared to pure PLA. © 2016, Chengdu University of Science and Technology. All right reserved.