Effect of silane modified nano-SiO2 on the mechanical properties and compatibility of PBAT/lignin composite films

In recent years, the development of environment-friendly biodegradable and high-performing polymer composite for production has attracted much attention, motivated by the need to reduce the amount of microplastics accumulating in the environment. In this study, the poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and sodium lignosulphonate (SL) composite films with different loading of SL are synthesized. The PBAT/SL composite films show great UV-blocking capability and photostability. When the addition of SL reaches 10 wt%, the UV-B blocking of the composite films (P/L10) can reach about 100%. However, the tensile strength of P/L10 is about 32% less than that of neat PBAT. The silane modified nano-SiO2 (m-SiO2)(,) as a nano-filler, is well distributed into PBAT/SL composites, leading to improved tensile properties and the compatibility of PBAT with SL. The tensile strength of the P/L10/S2 (S2 denotes 2 wt% m-SiO2) is about 55% more than that of P/L10 and 5% more than that of neat PABT. It can be observed from SEM that a suitable content of m-SiO2 can improve the interfacial compatibility between PBAT and SL. This work provides innovative strategy for biodegradable PBAT/SL composites with remarkable UV-blocking ability and tensile strength.