Fabrication of Scratch Resistant Polylactide with Multilayered Shish-kebab Structure through Layer-Multiplying Coextrusion

Recent demands for preserving esthetics of polymer parts over the duration of their service life have necessitated a favorable scratch resistance of polymer surfaces. Herein, a layer-multiplying coextrusion process was chosen to prepare a type of scratch resistant polylactide (PLA) material containing multilayer-assembled shish-kebab structure. Their scratch behavior and potential mechanisms were investigated. It was demonstrated that the greatly improved mechanical strength and toughness following the formation of ordered and oriented crystalline structure in neat PIA played a significant role in improving the scratch performance, particularly the resistance to the formation of cracking. Since no foreign additives were required, the present work provided an economical and environmental-friendly strategy for fabricating scratch resistant polymers.