EXTRUDED PLA-LLDPE FILMS WITH BI-FUNCTIONAL BLEND MORPHOLOGY FORMED WITH A CONTINUOUS CHAOTIC BLENDER FOR BARRIER AND TOUGHNESS IMPROVEMENTS

摘要

A continuous chaotic (smart) blender was used to controllably produce a wide variety of morphologies in polylactide acid (PLA) - linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) blends at LLDPE compositions of 20% and 30% by volume. The structured blends were extruded as films. In comparison to typical blends obtained by mixing consisting of droplets, results indicate that blend morphology can be selected with the chaotic blender to simultaneously improve permeability and impact toughness. Both properties benefit from high frontal area and interconnected shapes derived from multi-layers formed initially by the stretching and folding mechanism characterizing chaotic motions in the melt.