Investigation of rheological properties and hydrolytic degradation of biodegradable films of PLA/PCL/ZnO nanocomposites:

In this research, solvent casting method was applied to prepare the biodegradable and biocompatible poly lactic acid (PLA)/polycaprolactone (PCL)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites. Nanocomposite films were manufactured with avarying ZnO concentration. The hydrolytic degradation behavior of the selected blend composition was assessed and the effects of the ZnO concentrations on the rheological properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. Theobtained results demonstrated that the PH decreased with the increase of ZnO concentrations, demonstrating that ZnO played a key role as an initiator for the hydrolysis of ester bonds in PLA/PCL. Also the storage modulus and complex viscosity decreased with increasing zinc oxide content, which can be attributed to the role of zinc oxide nanoparticles in degradation of polyester matrix.

Keywords:

Polymer , PLA , rheological properties , nanocomposite , ZnO nanoparticles , degradation , cast , biodegradable