Preparation and Properties of Poly Lactic Acid/Tannic Acid Composites

Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a kind of green and environmentally friendly polymer material with good thermal processing and mechanical properties and biodegradability. However, the properties of poor heat resistance, hardness, and brittleness greatly limit the applications of PLA related materials. In this study, a series of PLA/TA composite films composed of PLA and tannic acid (TA) with different TA contents were prepared. X-ray diffractometry, FTIR spectrometry, thermal gravimetric analysis, electromechanical universal testing, and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry were used to characterize the properties of the composite materials. The results show that the strong hydrogen bonding between PLA polymer chains and TA molecules is formed, which greatly improves the heat resistance and mechanical properties of the obtained composite films. In addition, the composite materials possess strong UV shielding function owing to the polyphenol structure of TA, which has potential application prospects in the field of packaging materials.

Keywords

• poly lactic acid
• tannic acid
• blending modification
• composite films