Poly(lactic acid) polymer blends: A review of recent works

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a well-known aliphatic polyesters derived from corn and sugar beets, and it degrades to non-toxic compounds in landfill. Until the last decade, the main uses of PLA have been limited to biomedical and pharmaceutical applications such as implant devices, tissue scaffolds, and internal sutures, because of its high cost and low molecular weight. The new method to synthesis PLA (ring-opening polymerization), which allows economical production of high molecular weight PLA polymer, has broadened its applications. Because PLA is biodegradable and derived from renewable source, it has considered as one of the important solutions to the plastics wastes problem. However, PLA falls short of the required properties for potential applications because of its inherent brittleness, low toughness and high cost comparing with the traditional polymers (PE, PP, PS...). In general, polymer blending is the common method to modify such these drawbacks; the aim of this review is to discuss the recent developments in PLA polymer blends.