Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Toughened Polylactic Acid/Liquid Natural Rubber/Polyaniline Nanocomposites Reinforced Graphene at Low Loading)

This study was conducted to study the effect of adding graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) nanofiller on the mechanical and thermal properties of polylactic acid (PLA)/liquid natural rubber (LNR)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite. The PLA/LNR/PANI nanocomposites filled with GNP was prepared via melt blending method using an internal mixer. The contents of the GNP fillers were varied from 0.2 to 1.0 wt.%. Specimen was characterized through a series of test such as mechanical test, thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and conductivity analyzer (TCA) showed positive properties improvement with the addition of GNP at low content in the polymer matrix. The results of tensile, impact, and thermal stability properties indicated the optimum content was achieved at 0.4 wt. %. Based on the flexural and the TCA tests, the optimum improvement was obtained at 0.6 and 0.8 wt. % of GNP, respectively.