[en] Starting from calcium sulfate (gypsum) as fermentation byproduct of lactic acid production process, high performance composites have been produced by melt-blending polylactide (PLA) and -anhydrite II (AII) filler, i.e., calcium sulfate hemihydrate previously dried at 500 °C. Characterized by attractive properties due to good filler dispersion throughout the polyester matrix and favorable interactions between components, these composites are interesting for potential use as biodegradable rigid packaging. The effect of filler content and mean particle diameter on the barrier properties such as sorption and diffusion to water vapor has been examined and compared to unfilled PLA. Even without additional treatments, the presence of the filler introduced constraints on molecular mobility in the permeable phase of amorphous PLA and the amount of solvent absorbed appears lower in the highly filled composites. Surprisingly, for PLA-30% AII compositions, by addition of filler characterized by high mean particle diameter (e.g., 43 μm) the thermodynamic diffusion parameter, D0, decreased up to 2 orders of magnitude. The dimension of filler particles and their percentage in the continuous polymeric phase seem to be the most important parameters that determine the barrier properties of the PLA-AII composites to water vapor.
Disciplines :
Chemistry
Author, co-author :
Gorrasi, Giuliana; University of Salerno > Department of Chemical and Food Engineering
Vittoria, Vittoria; University of Salerno > Department of Chemical and Food Engineering
Dubois, Philippe ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers (CIRMAP) > Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials (LPCM)
Language :
English
Title :
Effect of filler content and size on transport properties of water vapour in PLA/calcium sulfate composites
Publication date :
15 February 2008
Journal title :
Biomacromolecules
ISSN :
1525-7797
eISSN :
1526-4602
Publisher :
American Chemical Society, Washington, United States - District of Columbia
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