Morphology and Properties of Poly(Lactic Acid)/Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Blends with Micro-Cellulose Fibers from Paper Pulp

This work studied the effect of micro-cellulose fibers prepared from paper pulp on the mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) copolymer blends. The FE-SEM shows the micron size of cellulose fibers, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis showed that the functional groups of lignin disappeared after passing the synthesis method. An internal mixer prepared the polymer blends and composites, and then samples were molded by compression molding. The results found that the dispersed phase of an EPDM phase was coalescence to droplets on the PLA matrix phase. The micro-cellulose in the polymer was not a homogeneous phase in the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties of polymer blends found that EPDM could improve the strain at break of PLA/EPDM blends when compared with pure PLA and decreased when increasing cellulose fiber content in the polymer matrix. The result of thermal properties found that the cellulose addition affected percent crystallinity but did not affect melting point temperature and glass transition temperature.