PEG
‐Regulated In‐Situ Fibrillation of Polyamide 12 for Toughening Polylactic Acid Melt‐Blown Nonwovens
Lin Liu, Qiwei Huang, Jinxing Wang, Md Sarwar Jahan, Chengjian Li, Yongrui Li, Shuoyan Shao, Yinchao Zhu, Feichao Zhu ABSTRACT
Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) melt‐blown nonwovens (MBNs) toughened by in situ‐formed polyamide 12 (PA12) microfibrils were fabricated via melt compounding followed by melt‐blown technology. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was introduced to regulate the melt viscosity of PA12 and improve the rheological compatibility between PLA and PA12. The effects of PEG content on the rheological behavior, thermal properties, fiber morphology, and mechanical performance of the blends were systematically investigated, and the mechanism of in situ fibrillation was analyzed from thermodynamic and hydrodynamic perspectives. Results showed that PEG effectively improved the rheological matching in the PLA/PA12 blend system and promoted In situ fibrillation of PA12 during melt blowing. At a PA12/PEG mass ratio of 90/10, the blend exhibited optimal fibrillation behavior and mechanical performance. Compared with neat PLA, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the corresponding melt‐blown nonwoven were increased by approximately 609% and 104%, respectively. This remarkable toughening effect is attributed to the reinforcing network and crack‐bridging mechanism provided by the in situ‐formed PA12 microfibrils.