New Polylactide/Layered Silicate Nanocomposites. 3. High-Performance Biodegradable Materials

Our ongoing research on the preparation, characterization, materials properties, and biodegradability of polylactide (PLA)/organically modified layered silicate (OMLS) nanocomposites has yielded results for PLA/organically modified synthetic fluorine mica (OMSFM) nanocomposites. Synthetic fluorine mica (SFM), modified with N-(coco alkyl)-N,N-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-methylammonium cation, was used as an OMLS for the nanocomposites preparation. The internal structure of the nanocomposites in the nanometer range was established using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analyses and transmission electron micrographic (TEM) observations. All nanocomposites exhibited remarkable improvement of various materials properties with simultaneous improvement in biodegradability than that of neat PLA. This is the first report that deals with the ultimate degradability of PLA and corresponding nanocomposites under compost.