A review on graft compatibilizer for thermoplastic elastomer blend

A biodegradable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) blend is developed by blending poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and natural rubber (NR) or epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and it is a sustainable substitution in recent years for synthetic polymers. PLA is high in mechanical strength and compostable, but it is highly stiff and brittle. The incorporation of NR or ENR to PLA increases the impact strength and toughness of PLA. However, the disparity in polarity between PLA and elastomer phase like NR and ENR results in TPE blend being incompatible. Hence, compatibilization is essential to improve its polarity and develop interactions. Compatibilizer that composed of two different polymer is known is graft compatibilizer with the aid of grafting agent. The graft compatibilizers are divided into two categories. The first type is made up of one polymer and grafting agent and, the other one is composed of two polymer groups and grafting agent. These two types of graft compatibilizer can be prepared via two different method such as direct melt blending and solution. Apart from this, the TPE blend is produced via the melt blending technique with mixing machines such as internal mixer and extruder. This article has reviewed the preparation of the graft compatibilizer and blending technique of TPE. Based on the findings, the graft compatibilizers has a significant role in improving miscibility and compatibility across blend composed of different phase

A review on the potential of polylactic acid based thermoplastic elastomer as filament material for fused deposition modelling

Currently, a range of sectors are implementing three-dimensional (3D) printing, which is a part of additive manufacturing (AM) technology via the fused deposition modelling (FDM) approach. As of now, various filament materials are available in the market and have their limitations. Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) blend as a filament material in 3D printing should be implemented to overcome the weakness of available filaments. TPE blend stands out due to its flexibility, thermoplastic-like processability, and renewability. Based on the findings, TPE blend filament can be made with polylactic acid (PLA) thermoplastic and elastomers such as natural rubber (NR) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR). The TPE printed components will be flexible; tough with excellent thermal and mechanical properties. In this paper, the characteristics of TPE are being reviewed to show the potential of TPE material as filament