In this work, poly(L-lactic acid)/thermoplastic alginate (PLA/TPA) biocomposites were prepared through a melt blending method. The TPA was initially prepared using glycerol as a plasticizer. The effects of TPA content on the interactions between blend components, thermal properties, phase morphology, mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, and biodegradation properties of biocomposites were systematically investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis corroborated the interaction between the blend components. The addition of TPA enhanced the nucleating effect for PLA, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed poor phase compatibility between the PLA and TPA phases. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of the biocomposites decreased with the addition of TPA, as demonstrated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile tests, respectively. The hydrophilicity and soil burial degradation rate of biocomposites increased significantly as the TPA content increased. These results indicated that PLA/TPA biocomposites degraded faster than pure PLA, making them suitable for single-use packaging, but this necessitates careful optimization of TPA content to balance mechanical properties and soil burial degradation rate for practical single-use applications.

Poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide) (PLLA-PEG-PLLA) shows promise for use in bioplastic applications due to its greater flexibility over PLLA. However, further research is needed to improve PLLA-PEG-PLLA’s properties with appropriate fillers. This study employed zinc phenylphosphate (PPZn) as a multi-functional filler for PLLA-PEG-PLLA. The effects of PPZn addition on PLLA-PEG-PLLA characteristics, such as crystallization and thermal and mechanical properties, were investigated. There was good phase compatibility between the PPZn and PLLA-PEG-PLLA. The addition of PPZn improved PLLA-PEG-PLLA’s crystallization properties, as evidenced by the disappearance of the cold crystallization temperature, an increase in the crystallinity, an increase in the crystallization temperature, and a decrease in the crystallization half-time. The PLLA-PEG-PLLA’s thermal stability and heat resistance were enhanced by the addition of PPZn. The PPZn addition also enhanced the mechanical properties of the PLLA-PEG-PLLA, as demonstrated by the rise in ultimate tensile stress and Young’s modulus. We can conclude that the PPZn has potential for use as a multi-functional filler for the PLLA-PEG-PLLA composite due to its nucleating-enhancing, thermal-stabilizing, and reinforcing ability.

In present study, the improvement of poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide) or PLLA-PEG-PLLA film properties with extract of rice straw nanocellulose are reported. The diameter of cellulose particles was 59.92 and 392 nm as determined by TEM and particle size analysis, respectively. A solvent casting method was used to prepare nanocellulose and polymer matrix (PLLA-PEG-PLLA) in different ratios (1%, 3% and 5% wt). It was found that the nanocellulose content, thermal and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix were varied. There was slightly increased thermal stability from 270 to 276 ºC in the first stages. In the 2nd stage from 367 to 376 ºC, TGA indicated slightly decreased Tg and Tcc while Tm was not different (DSC). The mechanical properties of biocomposite film displayed slightly increased Young’s modulus (414-447 MPa), stress at break (26-31 MPa) and elongation at break (6.6-7.6%) compared to pure PLLA-PEG-PLLA film.