Electron beam radiation effects on properties and ecotoxicity of PHBV/PLA blends in presence of organo-modified montmorillonite

The present article reports a study of oxidative degradation under eBeam irradiation of neat PHBV, neat PLA and PHBV/PLA blend (50/50 w/w) with and without Cloisite 30B (C30B) (3 wt%) at absorbed doses of 1 and 10 kGy. The changes in the chemical structure, the molecular weight, the thermal, mechanical and barrier properties as well as the morphology were evaluated. The data showed that eBeam irradiation of PHBV/PLA blend leads to oxidation reactions involving ester groups in both neat PLA and neat PHBV resulting in the formation of hydroperoxides groups. The presence of C30B in the polymer blend has no influence on the nature of the degradation process. However, the good dispersion of C30B nanoparticles provides more stability to the molar mass and the thermal, mechanical and barrier properties of PHBV/PLA blend. At absorbed dose of 10 kGy, the irradiated samples are completely safe. Furthermore, ecotoxicity testing of both non irradiated and irradiated samples clearly showed no toxicity.