Compatibilization of poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate) blends by using epoxidized magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(butylene adipate- co -terephthalate) (PBAT) blends have been widely developed due to their excellent biodegradability and complementary mechanical properties. However, PLA/PBAT blends are still facing the limitations of their poor compatibility and flammability. To address these challenges facilely, a family of functional compatibilizers was fabricated using epoxy-modified magnesium hydroxide (MH). Then, PLA/PBAT blends with these functional MH compatibilizers were prepared by reactive extrusion. Systematic study demonstrated that the compatibility of PLA/PBAT blends was significantly improved through the novel reactive compatibilization strategy. The elongation at the break of PLA/PBAT blends could be as high as 182.5 % without sacrificing the toughness. Additionally, PLA/PBAT blends possessed a good flame-retarded behavior. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased from 19.5 % to 24.9 % after compatibilized by epoxidized MH nanoparticles. Hence, our finding put forward a platform for the functional compatibilization of polymer blends, which has great potential applications in the field of material processing.