Highly toughened polylactide by renewable Eucommia ulmoides gum

Polylactide (PLA) derived from natural sources has attracted increasing interest and has provided a promising alternative to traditional plastics derived from petroleum sources. With no loss of environmental friendly features, PLA was highly toughened by Eucommia ulmoides gum (EUG) derived from Eucommia ulmoides oliv. The dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry results show that the PLA–EUG blends were immiscible systems. SEM micrographs revealed that EUG particles were well dispersed in the PLA matrix with number-average particle diameters of 2–4 μm. The mechanical properties indicated that the tensile strength decreased with increasing EUG contents, but the elongation at break and the impact strength were enhanced. The notched impact strength of the blends improved by 5.9-fold compared to that of neat PLA. The PLA–EUG blends exhibited distinct shear-thinning behavior; this indicated good processability, and the storage modulus and loss modulus of the PLA–EUG blends increased with EUG content.