10.6084/m9.figshare.8324513.v1 Elieber Barros Bezerra Elieber Barros Bezerra Danyelle Campos França Danyelle Campos França Dayanne Diniz de Souza Morais Dayanne Diniz de Souza Morais Danilo Diniz Siqueira Danilo Diniz Siqueira Edcleide Maria Araújo Edcleide Maria Araújo Renate Maria Ramos Wellen Renate Maria Ramos Wellen Toughening of bio-PE upon addition of PCL and PEgAA SciELO journals 2019 biopolymer Bio-PE biodegradable polymer PCL polymer blends Bio-PE/PCL/PEgAA tough behavior 2019-06-26 06:27:34 Dataset https://scielo.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Toughening_of_bio-PE_upon_addition_of_PCL_and_PEgAA/8324513 <div><p>Abstract Researches of polymer blends based on biological and biodegradable polymers appear as a viable alternative to develop environmentally friendly materials. Therefore, the aim of this research was to produce compounds made with biological polyethylene, i.e., Biopolyethylene, Bio-PE, added to the biodegradable Polycaprolactone (PCL) and functionalized by the copolymer of polyethylene grafted with acrylic acid (PEgAA), to obtain better mechanical properties and toughen Bio-PE. Compounds were processed in a co-rotating twin screw extruder and sample tests were injection molded. The compositions investigated were: Bio-PE/PCL at 90/10, 80/20 and 70/30 wt.% without compatibilizer and upon addition of 10 phr (parts per hundred of resin) of PEgAA. The blends were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), impact strength, heat deflection temperature (HDT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Through XRD, it was observed that addition of PCL and PEgAA did not significantly change Bio-PE diffraction patterns. Impact strength data showed that the blends presented a tougher behavior upon addition of PCL and PEgAA. The HDT of compatibilized blend with 20wt.% of PCL was slightly higher. SEM images of compatibilized blends showed lower average particle diameters as well as absence of coalescence and aggregates.</p></div>