Reprocessing of PLA based nanocomposites: Effect of nanofiller

Abstract

Several studies investigated the effect of the reprocessing on the properties of PLA. However, recycling of PLA-based nanocomposites was not been investigated in depth so far. PLA is susceptible to thermo-degradation during melt processing operations. For this purpose, the study of thermo-mechanical degradative phenomena associated to its re-processing is of great concern in order to assess the possibility of recycling PLA-based nanocomposites. This work aims to evaluate the effect of reprocessing on morphology and properties of PLA reinforced with different nanofillers, i.e. hydrotalcites (HT) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs), pointing out on the role of the nanofiller.