High performance polyvinyl alcohol/polylactic acid materials: Facile preparation and improved properties

Developing eco-friendly products to replace fossil-based ones which are difficult to degrade and pollute survival environment, is of great significance for human health and environmental protection. Here, the preparation of green polyvinyl alcohol/polylactic acid (PVA/PLA) materials has been achieved for the first time using a simple and effective strategy. Interestingly, after the composite of PVA with PLA, PLA can remarkedly enhance tensile strength, elongation at break, biocompatibility and thermostability of the PVA/PLA material. Moreover, the material is biodegradable in natural environment. At the same time, scanning electron micrograph (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectra (IR) techniques are employed to systematically study the effects of PVA/PLA mass ratio on the morphology, crystallinity and chemical structure of the PVA/PLA material and possible interaction between PVA and PLA. It is expected that this study can provide a new insight into the fabrication of green PVA-based products with high performance and practical application.