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Design of Mechanical Properties of Poly(butylene-adipate-terephthalate) Reinforced with Zein-TiO2 Complex

2022; Wiley; Volume: 2022; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1155/2022/6496985

2577-6576

Elena Togliatti, Maria Grazia Grimaldi, Olimpia Pitirollo, Antonella Cavazza, Diego Pugliese, Daniel Milanese, Corrado Sciancalepore,

Polymer Nanocomposites and Properties

Mechanical properties of polymer biocomposites are influenced by the interaction between the matrix and the filler surface. In this work, composites based on poly(butylene-adipate-terephthalate) (PBAT) filled with micrometric particles of zein-TiO2 complex (ZTC) were realized via solvent casting technique at different concentrations, equal to 0, 5, 10, and 20 wt%. After pelletization, the resulting materials were injection molded into standard specimens, employed for the uniaxial tensile test (UTT) characterization. From the stress-strain curves, Young’s modulus ( E ), yield stress ( σ y ), stress at break ( σ B ), elongation at break ( ε B ), and toughness ( T ) were collected. The addition of the ZTC proved to show a reinforcing effect on the polymeric matrix, with an increase in both E and σ y . Modelling of the mechanical properties was performed by applying Kerner’s and Pukánszky’s equations. Kerner’s model, applied on experimental E values, returned a very good correspondence between collected and theoretical values. From the application of Pukánszky’s model to σ y , the obtained B value showed a good interfacial interaction between the matrix and the filler. Due to the enhanced stiffness of the composites, a reduction in the true stress at break ( σ T , B ) was observed. The modified Pukánszky’s model gave a B value lower than the one obtained for the yield, but still in the range of acceptable values for microcomposites.