Wood-plastic composites based on PVC/PLA/PBAT ternary blend

The objective of this work was to improve mechanical properties, thermal resistance, and biodegradability of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by the addition of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), and wood flour (WF). The samples made from a mixture of PVC/PBAT exhibited the highest impact and tensile properties, while properties of the samples made from PVC/PLA had the highest flexural and thermal properties, PVC/PLA/PBAT mixed samples exhibited average mechanical properties. The addition of WF to all the blends increased impact strength, flexural properties, Young’s modulus, thermal resistance, and biodegradability of the samples in comparison to those of the neat PVC and its blends. Composite samples of PVC/PBAT/WF showed the highest impact strength, while PVC/PLA/WF composite had the highest flexural and thermal resistance. The samples manufactured from a mixture of PVC/PLA/PBAT/WF had the highest tensile strength and Young’s modulus. The overall results in this work suggested that the enhanced properties of PVC samples were strongly influenced by the compatibility between polymer blend matrix and WF particles.