%0 Journal Article
%T Transparency, ultraviolet transmittance, and miscibility of poly(lactic acid)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends
%A EL Teoh
%A WS Chow
%J Journal of Elastomers & Plastics
%@ 1530-8006
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0095244317743067
%X Poly(lactic acid)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PLA/PMMA) blends were prepared by melt compounding technique. The miscibility of PLA/PMMA blends at various blending ratios (i.e. 80/20, 60/40, 40/60, and 20/80) was investigated using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) and solvent uptake experiment. The solvent uptake experiment was conducted to estimate the interaction of PLA/PMMA blends based on the calculation of Flory¨CHuggins interaction parameter (¦Ö12). DMA results revealed that only single glass transition temperature (Tg) existed along the PLA/PMMA blends. Smallest ¦Ö12 (i.e. £¿0.03) was found on the PLA/PMMA20 blend, suggesting interaction between PLA and PMMA at this composition. The incorporation of PMMA slightly improved the UV protection properties of the PLA/PMMA blend, while maintaining their optical transparency
%K Transparency
%K miscibility
%K polymer blends
%K poly(lactic acid)
%K poly(methyl methacrylate)
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0095244317743067