Poly (lactic acid)/titanium dioxide composites: Preparation and performance under ultraviolet irradiation

Poly (lactic acid)/anatase-titanium dioxide (PLA/A-TiO2) and PLA/rutile-TiO2 (PLA/R-TiO2) composites were prepared by spin coating technique (thin film) and extrusion-injection processing (thick film), respectively. The ultraviolet (UV) photoresponse effects of the two oxide structures were investigated mainly by measuring the UV absorbance or mechanical properties. For the thin films, the UV absorbance results exhibit a UV shielding effect of R-TiO2 and a degradation acceleration effect of A-TiO2 when the particles are embedded in PLA matrix. But for the thick films, the mechanical property results only exhibit a UV shielding effect of both R-TiO2 and A-TiO2 particles and improve the anti-UV performance of PLA when the particles are encapsulated in PLA matrix.