Properties Enhancement of Poly(Lactic Acid) Using Functionalized Mineral Fillers

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a commercially available biodegradable polymer. Improvement in the quality and properties of PLA by introducing mineral filler is could make this a competitive material among the biopolymers used in the industry. Because of their natural abundance and high aspect ratio, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), are presently popularized as reinforcing fillers in polymer nanocomposites. This chapter highlights the potential of zinc oxide (ZnO)-functionalized HNT to enhancement the properties of PLA. ZnO-treated HNT was successfully fabricated via a solvent-free technique. Further, the influences of ZnO-functionalized HNT on the tensile and thermal properties and the ultraviolet (UV) resistance behavior of PLA were evaluated. The tensile properties and thermal stability of both HNT-reinforced and ZnO-functionalized HNT-reinforced PLA nanocomposites are higher than those of PLA. UV-visible spectroscopy results demonstrated that the addition of HNT-ZnO substantially enhanced the UV protection of PLA nanocomposites.