Effects of Nanoclay on the Morphology and Physical Properties of Solid and Microcellular Injection Molded Polyactide/Poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) Nanocomposites and Blends

Polylactide/poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate)/nanoclay (PLA/PBAT/nanoclay) nanocomposites with various nanoclay contents were melt compounded. An injection-molding machine equipped with a commercially available supercritical fluid (SCF) system was used to produce both solid and microcellular PLA/PBAT/nanoclay nanocomposite ASTM tensile test samples. The effect of adding nanoclay on the thermal and mechanical properties of solid and microcellular PLA/PBAT components, as well as its effect on the cell morphology of the microcellular components, was investigated. The results showed that when nanoclay was added into PLA/PBAT blends, most of the nanoclay platelets preferred to locate themselves at the interface between the PLA phase and the PBAT phase, leading to improved interfacial adhesion of the two phases. Moreover, for microcellular components, the improvement of interfacial adhesion enhanced cell nucleation resulting in smaller cell sizes and higher cell densities. Furthermore, the addition of nanoclay could significantly affect the crystallization of PLA/PBAT blends, and improve the tensile strength and modulus of both solid and microcellular components.