Biodegradable Hydrogenated Dimer Acid-Based Plasticizers for PLA with Excellent Plasticization, Thermal Stability and Gas Resistance
Nengkun Huang,
Fan Wang,
Ruihao Zhang,
Zhaolin Cao,
Wen Sun,
Yuting Ma,
Jihuai Tan,
Xinbao Zhu
Affiliations
Nengkun Huang
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Fan Wang
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Ruihao Zhang
College of Light Industry and Food Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Zhaolin Cao
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Wen Sun
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Yuting Ma
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Jihuai Tan
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Xinbao Zhu
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
The use of vegetable oil-dervied plasticizers to enhance the flexibility of polylactic acid (PLA) has received much attention due to their renewability, inexpensiveness and biodegradation. However, the double bonds in vegetable oil-based plasticizers limit their compatibility with PLA, resulting in PLA-derived products with reduced flexibility. Herein, we examined soybean oil-derived hydrogenated dimer acid-based polyethylene glycol methyl ether esters (HDA-2n, 2n = 2, 4, 6 or 8, referring to the ethoxy units) developed via the direct esterification of saturated hydrogenated dimer acid and polyethylene glycol monomethyl ethers. The resulting HDA-2n was first used as a plasticizer for PLA, and the effects of the ethoxy units in HDA-2n on the overall performance of the plasticized PLA were systematically investigated. The results showed that, compared with PLA blended with dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), the PLA plasticized by HDA-8 with the maximum number of ethoxy units (PLA/HDA-8) exhibited better low-temperature resistance (40.1 °C vs. 15.3 °C), thermal stability (246.8 °C vs. 327.6 °C) and gas barrier properties. Additionally, the biodegradation results showed that HDA-8 could be biodegraded by directly burying it in soil. All results suggest that HDA-8 could be used as green alternative to the traditional petroleum-based plasticizer DOTP, which is applied in the PLA industry.
