title: Mechanical, structural and thermal properties of Ag-Cu and ZnO reinforced polylactide nanocomposite films.
abstract: Plasticized polylactic acid (PLA) based nanocomposite films were prepared by incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) and two selected nanoparticles (NPs) [silver-copper (Ag-Cu) alloy (<100 nm) and zinc oxide (ZnO) (<50 and <100 nm)] through solvent casting method. Incorporation of Ag-Cu alloy into the PLA/PEG matrix increased the glass transition temperature (Tg) significantly. The crystallinity of the nanocomposites (NCs) was significantly influenced by NP incorporation as evidenced from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The PLA nanocomposite reinforced with NPs exhibited much higher tensile strength than that of PLA/PEG blend. Melt rheology of NCs exhibited a shear-thinning behavior. The mechanical property drastically reduced with a loading of NPs, which is associated with degradation of PLA. SEM micrographs exhibited that both Ag-Cu alloy and ZnO NPs were dispersed well in the PLA film matrix.
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutrition Program Environment & Life Sciences Research Center Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait. Electronic address: jaahmed@kisr.edu.kw.
authors.forename: Jasim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutrition Program Environment & Life Sciences Research Center Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Yasir Ali
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Arfat
authors.affiliation: The School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castro-Aguirre
authors.affiliation: The School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Auras
mesh_terms: D003116:Color; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D012212:Rheology; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength; D044366:Transition Temperature; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; D012834:Silver; C033616:poly(lactide); D003300:Copper; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: Glass transition temperature; Melt rheology; Tensile strength; X-ray diffraction