Assembling copper nanowires at the interface and in discrete phases in PLA-based polymer blends

作者：Dil Ebrahim Jalali; Arjmand Mohammad; Li Yan; Sundararaj Uttandaraman^*; Favis Basil D^*

来源：European Polymer Journal, 2016, 85: 187-197.

DOI：10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2016.09.053

• Interface
• Blend
• Copper nanowires
• Poly(lactie acid)

This work examines the effects of kinetic parameters on the assembly of copper nanowires (CuNWs) in discrete phases and at the interface in two distinct blend systems: a high interfacial tension blend of poly(lactic acid), PLA, flow density polyethylene (LDPE) and a low interfacial tension blend of PLA/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate), PBAT. CuNWs were synthesized through electrodeposition in a porous alumina oxide template. Considering the surface polarity of polymer melts and the hydrophilicity of the surface of CUNWs, the particles should be located in the more polar phase (PLA in PLA/LDPE or PBAT in PLA/PBAT). TEM images confirm that when CuNWs are initially premixed with the more polar phase, they remain in that phase in a stable fashion irrespective of the interfacial tension of the system. However, when the particles are premixed with the less polar phase, to investigate kinetic effects, different behaviors are observed; in PLA/LDPE blends, CuNWs partition between both phases, while in PLA/PBAT blends, CuNWs assemble at the interface and in the less polar PLA phase. The effects of mixing time and shear rate on these phenomena are examined, and importantly, for the low interfacial tension PLA/PBAT blend, it is shown that CuNWs can be assembled in a stable fashion at the interface. The mechanism of interfacial assembly of these cylindrically shaped CuNWs in PLA/PBAT is the result of enhanced bulk migration in the less polar PLA phase and slow migration rate across the interface.

• 出版日期2016-12