Next Article in Journal
Comparative Structure-Property Characterization of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-Co-3-Hydroxyvalerate)s Films under Hydrolytic and Enzymatic Degradation: Finding a Transition Point in 3-Hydroxyvalerate Content
Previous Article in Journal
Comparison of the Foamability of Linear and Long-Chain Branched Polypropylene—The Legend of Strain-Hardening as a Requirement for Good Foamability
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Polymers
Volume 12
Issue 3
10.3390/polym12030726
polymers-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Effect of Chitin Nanocrystals on Crystallization and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Nanocomposites

by
Shikha Singh
1,2,
Mitul Patel
1,
Daniel Schwendemann
1,3,
Marta Zaccone
4,
Shiyu Geng
1,
Maria Lluisa Maspoch
2 and
Kristiina Oksman
1,5,*
1
Division of Materials Science, Luleå University of Technology, SE-97 187 Luleå, Sweden
2
Centre Català del Plàstic (CCP), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (EEBE-UPC), C/Colom 114, Terrassa 08222, Spain
3
IWK Institut für Werkstofftechnik und Kunststoffverarbeitung, CH-8640 Rapperswil, Switzerland
4
Proplast, Via Roberto di Ferro 86, 15122 Alessandria, Italy
5
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3BS, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2020, 12(3), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030726
Submission received: 2 March 2020 / Revised: 14 March 2020 / Accepted: 16 March 2020 / Published: 24 March 2020
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

The crystalline phase of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has crucial effects on its own properties and nanocomposites. In this study, the isothermal crystallization of PLA, triethyl citrate-plasticized PLA (PLA–TEC), and its nanocomposite with chitin nanocrystals (PLA–TEC–ChNC) at different temperatures and times was investigated, and the resulting properties of the materials were characterized. Both PLA and PLA–TEC showed extremely low crystallinity at isothermal temperatures of 135, 130, 125 °C and times of 5 or 15 min. In contrast, the addition of 1 wt % of ChNCs significantly improved the crystallinity of PLA under the same conditions owing to the nucleation effect of the ChNCs. The samples were also crystallized at 110 °C to reach their maximal crystallinity, and PLA–TEC–ChNC achieved 48% crystallinity within 5 min, while PLA and PLA–TEC required 40 min to reach a similar level. Moreover, X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the addition of ChNCs resulted in smaller crystallite sizes, which further influenced the barrier properties and hydrolytic degradation of the PLA. The nanocomposites had considerably lower barrier properties and underwent faster degradation compared to PLA–TEC110. These results confirm that the addition of ChNCs in PLA leads to promising properties for packaging applications.
Keywords: poly(lactic acid); chitin nanocrystals; nanocomposites; liquid-assisted extrusion; crystallinity; barrier properties; hydrolytic degradation poly(lactic acid); chitin nanocrystals; nanocomposites; liquid-assisted extrusion; crystallinity; barrier properties; hydrolytic degradation
Graphical Abstract

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Singh, S.; Patel, M.; Schwendemann, D.; Zaccone, M.; Geng, S.; Maspoch, M.L.; Oksman, K. Effect of Chitin Nanocrystals on Crystallization and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Nanocomposites. Polymers 2020, 12, 726. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030726

AMA Style

Singh S, Patel M, Schwendemann D, Zaccone M, Geng S, Maspoch ML, Oksman K. Effect of Chitin Nanocrystals on Crystallization and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Nanocomposites. Polymers. 2020; 12(3):726. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030726

Chicago/Turabian Style

Singh, Shikha, Mitul Patel, Daniel Schwendemann, Marta Zaccone, Shiyu Geng, Maria Lluisa Maspoch, and Kristiina Oksman. 2020. "Effect of Chitin Nanocrystals on Crystallization and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Nanocomposites" Polymers 12, no. 3: 726. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030726

APA Style

Singh, S., Patel, M., Schwendemann, D., Zaccone, M., Geng, S., Maspoch, M. L., & Oksman, K. (2020). Effect of Chitin Nanocrystals on Crystallization and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Nanocomposites. Polymers, 12(3), 726. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030726

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop