Effect of electron beam irradiation dose on the properties of commercial biodegradable poly(lactic acid), poly(butylenes adipate-co-terephthalate) and their blends

摘要

The knowledge about the influence of the electron beam (EB) radiation dose on the chemical and physical changes of polymers is critical either for sterilization purpose or materials modification. In this work, the effect of EB irradiation dose ranging 25-100 kGy on the properties of commercial polyClactic acid) (PLA), poly(bu-tylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and their blends was compared. The samples of about 0.5 mm in thickness were prepared by hot pressing. The changes in molecular weight, yellow index, thermal and mechanical properties were evaluated. The main findings are that a severe reduction in the glass transition and melting temperatures as well as the mechanical properties of PLA occurs when subjected to higher doses of EB irradiation, which can be ascribed to irradiation-induced decrease in molecular weight; while the effect of EB irradiation on the molecular weight and mechanical properties of PBAT and PLA/PBAT blends is ignorable.