Mechanical and rheological properties of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly Butylene Succinate (PBS) nanocomposites incorporating cellulose nanocrystals

Incompatible polymer blend composed of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly Butylene Succinate (PBS) incorporating Cellulose NanoWhiskers (CNW) which already has been synthsized by acid hydrolysis were prepared by solvent casting and examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Rheometric Mechanical Spectrometer (RMS), Tensile testing and X-ray Diffraction Method (XRD). Examinations show that addition of cellulose nanoparticles causes not only the reduction size of PBS as dispersed phase which means miscibility improvement, but also decreases the elongation at break from about 200% for neat PLA/PBS blend to 10% for PLA/PBS/0.5%cnw composite. RMS results represent lower complex viscosity quantity as well as storage modulus with the presence of cellulose nanowhiskers, although the size of CNWs and surface morphology were investigated and confirmed by microscopy methods.