Tensile Properties of Pla And Phbv Blends: Anomalous Elongation and Aging

Abstract : Polylactide (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are polymers made from renewable resources. Despite their growing competitiveness with conventional petrol-based polymers, they still have some disadvantages such as poor (fragile) mechanical properties. Blending is a potentially prospective way of obtaining new materials with improved properties, which can overcome the drawbacks of the pure components. In this work, PLA and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blends were prepared via melt mixing. Their morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy and their tensile properties were studied.