Fabrication of Eco-friendly PLA/PBAT-based Composites Through Conductive Network Formation

초록

Recently, the development of eco-friendly materials has attracted increasing attention as a major solution toreduce environmental pollution. Therefore, if conductive materials are manufactured using biodegradable polymers,eco-friendly conductive composites can be applied in various fields. In general, a large amount of filler is required toachieve conductivity; however, excessive filler loading leads to increased cost and deterioration of mechanical properties. For this reason, it is important to develop materials with high conductivity at low filler contents. In this study,biodegradable conductive composites were fabricated by optimizing conductive network formation, mixing conditions,and polylactic acid (PLA)/polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) compatibility. As a result, the optimal carbon nanotube(CNT) content and processing conditions were determined, and biodegradable polymer composites with high electricalconductivity were obtained using the minimum filler content. Furthermore, the incorporation of a compatibilizerenabled the fabrication of composites with improved mechanical properties. It was also confirmed that, for the formationof a conductive network, the spatial distribution of CNTs and the development of a co-continuous structure play a morecritical role than the compatibility enhancement of the immiscible polymer matrix.

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