Preparation and Properties of Biodegradable Shape Memory Polylactic Acid/Poly(ε‐caprolactone) Blends under Volume Elongational Deformation

Abstract In this work, a novel eccentric rotor mixer (ERM), which can generate circulating volume elongational deformation, is employed to prepare biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)/poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) thermo‐responsive shape‐memory blends without a compatibilizer. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the ERM has more efficient dispersion and compatibilization for blends than conventional Banbury mixers, which is beneficial for shape‐memory performance. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) also confirm the consequences. Then, morphological and mechanical properties and shape memory behaviors of the blends are investigated in detail. Co‐continuous morphology is found on EF‐PLA50. The blends exhibit remarkable shape‐memory performance. The bending shape fixing ratio and recovery ratio of the blends are more than 94% and are still more than 90% after five shape memory cycles. With the increase of PLA content, the shape fixing ratio of blends decreases, while the shape recovery ratio increases and the shape recovery time becomes shorter. All the blends show good mechanical properties.