Enhancement of impact strength of poly(lactic acid)/silicon carbide nanocomposites through surface modification with titanate-coupling agents

摘要

In this study, poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites were fabricated from PLA and silicon carbide (SiC) using solution blending. The surfaces of SiC nanoparticles were treated with a titanate-coupling agent. The influence of the SiC content on thermal stability, flexural properties, impact strength and fracture morphology of the nanocomposites was investigated. The impact strength of the nanocomposites was increased by the introduction of SiC nanoparticles. The nanocomposites containing SiC nanoparticles treated with a titanate-coupling agent (termed T-SiC) exhibited higher impact strengths than the nanocomposites containing neat SiC nanoparticles under the same conditions. Scanning electron microscopy results showed good compatibility between the T-SiC nanoparticles and the PLA matrix.