Strain-induced deformation mechanisms of polylactide plasticized with acrylated poly(ethylene glycol) obtained by reactive extrusion.

This work aimed at identifying the tensile deformation mechanisms of an original grade of plasticized polylactide ( pPLA) obtained by reactive extrusion. This material had a glass transition temperature of 32.6 °C and consisted of a polylactide ( PLA) matrix grafted with poly(acryl-poly(ethylene glycol)) (poly(Acryl- PEG)) inclusions. pPLA behaved like a rubber-toughened amorphous polymer at 20 °C, and its tensile behavior evolved toward a rubbery semicrystalline polymer with increasing temperature. The drawing of pPLA involved orientation of amorphous and crystalline chains, crystallization, and destruction of crystals. It was found that crystal formation and crystal destruction were in competition below 50 °C, resulting in a constant or slightly decreasing crystallinity with strain. Increasing temperature enhanced crystal formation and limited crystal destruction, resulting in an increased crystallinity with the strain level. Drawing yielded a transformation of the initial spherical poly(Acryl- PEG) inclusions into ellipsoids oriented in the tensile direction. This mechanism may engender the formation of nanovoids within the inclusions due to a decreased density, assumed to be responsible for the whitening of the specimen. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]