Miscibility of Crystalline/Amorphous/Crystalline Biopolymer Blends from PLLA/PDLLA/PHB with Additives

Miscibility of three biopolymers (PLLA, PDLLA and PHB) blends were investigated by POM, WAXD, FTIR, and DSC. DSC verified the thermal properties of biopolymer blend with PVAc as a compatibilizer, and TBC as plasticizer. Some change in glass transition temperature (T_g) of biopolymer blends from 60°C to 0.7°C. The spherulitic morphology of blend 9 changing by addition more PHB (50%), the results dendritic spherulites. The adding PHB to PLLA blends make certain shifting in the diffraction peak from 2 ? = 16.9° to 2 ? = 16.6° and the carbonyl group shifts from 1752 cm^?1 to 1732 cm^?1 in blends, demonstrating polar interactions between them.     

Thermodynamic hydrogen bonding inpoly(styrene‐co‐acrylic acid)/poly(styrene‐co‐4‐N,N‐dimethylacrylamide) blends

FTIR study of the hydrogen bonding interactions within blends of different ratios of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylic acid) containing 18, 27, and 32 mol% of acrylic acid (SAA) and poly(styrene‐co‐N,N‐dimethylacrylamide) containing 17 mol% of N,N‐dimethylacrylamide (SAD‐17) was carried out qualitatively and quantitatively in the temperature range varying from room temperature to 210°C. Two new bands characterizing these interactions appeared in the 1800–1550 cm^–1 region at 1730 cm^–1 and 1616 cm^–1 and are attributed to “liberated” carbonyl group of the acidic copolymer and the “associated amide” carbonyl group, respectively. Equilibrium constants describing both the self‐association K₂ and inter‐association K_A and the enthalpy of hydrogen bonding formation in the different blends were experimentally determined using a curve fitting analysis of the infra‐red spectra as a function of temperature using the appropriate equations derived from the Painter‐Coleman association model. The obtained results confirm the miscibility of these blends in the considered temperature range from the negative values of the total free energy of mixing ΔG_M. Optimization of the extent of intermolecular interactions between the two polymers in these blends is investigated. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The phase behavior and thermal stability of blends of poly(styrene‐co‐methacrylic acid)/poly(styrene‐co‐ 4‐vinylpyridine)

The hydrogen bonding and miscibility behaviors of poly(styrene‐co‐methacrylic acid) (PSMA20) containing 20% of methacrylic acid with copolymers of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) (PS4VP) containing 5, 15, 30, 40, and 50%, respectively, of 4‐vinylpyridine were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was shown that all the blends have a single glass transition over the entire composition range. The obtained T_gs of PSMA20/PS4VP blends containing an excess amount of PS4VP, above 15% of 4VP in the copolymer, were found to be significantly higher than those observed for each individual component of the mixture, indicating that these blends are able to form interpolymer complexes. The FTIR study reveals presence of intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interaction between vinylpyridine nitrogen atom and the hydroxyl of MMA group and intensifies when the amount of 4VP is increased in PS4VP copolymers. A new band characterizing these interactions at 1724 cm⁻¹ was observed. In addition, the quantitative FTIR study carried out for PSMA20/PS4VP blends was also performed for the methacrylic acid and 4‐vinylpyridine functional groups. The TGA study confirmed that the thermal stability of these blends was clearly improved. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Hyperbranched Poly(Glycidol)-Grafted Silica Nanoparticles for Enhancing Li-Ion Conductivity of Poly(Ethylene Oxide)

Silica nanoparticles bearing hyperbranched polyglycidol (hbP) grafts are synthesized and blended with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) for the fabrication of composite solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) for enhancing Li-ion conductivity. Different batches of hbPs are prepared, namely, the 5th, 6th, and 7th with increasing molecular weights using cationic ring-opening polymerization and grafted the hbPs onto the silica nanoparticles using quaternization reaction. The effect of end functionalization of hbP-grafted silica nanoparticles with a nitrile functional group (CN–hbP–SiO₂) on the ionic conductivity of the blends with PEO is further studied. High dipole moments indicate polar nature of nitriles and show high dielectric constants. Among all the hbPs, the 6th-batch CN–hbP–SiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit better ionic conductivity on blending with PEO showing ionic conductivity of 2.3 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 80 °C. The blends show electrochemical stability up to 4.5 V versus lithium metal.     

Assessing the Effects of Sunlight on the Photooxidation of Tropical Oils with Experimental and Computational Approaches

This study aims to investigate the influence of high-intensity sunlight radiation on the photooxidation of tropical oils (TO). Coconut oil (CNO), palm oil (PO), and palm kernel oil (PKO) were chosen for determining the indicators of photooxidation when exposed to and in the absence of sunlight for 7 weeks. The results showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in free fatty acid (FFA) levels and peroxide value (PV) when the TO were exposed to sunlight. The iodine value and color content decreased significantly (P < 0.05) due to the decomposition of unsaturated FFA owing to the breaking down of the π-bonds and the degradation of color pigments during photooxidation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed strong vibrational absorptions at 1721 and 3505 cm⁻³, 1720 and 3560 cm⁻³, and 1721 and 3554 cm⁻³ for the CNO, PO, and PKO samples exposed to sunlight, respectively. These bands can be attributed to the presence of secondary oxidation products, which were absent in the TO that were not exposed to sunlight. A simulation was performed to support the FTIR results, which also indicated peaks from the secondary oxidation products at 1744 and 3660 cm⁻³. The study also revealed that the rate of photooxidation was different for each TO. The rate of oxidation followed the order PO > PKO > CNO. In contrast, no notable changes were observed in the TO kept away from sunlight. These results suggest that exposing TO to sunlight influences their oxidation stability and quality.     

New composite membrane poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide for direct ethanol–proton exchange membrane fuel cell

This study investigated a simple synthesis of a crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol)/ graphene oxide composite membrane with lower ethanol permeability membrane for passive direct ethanol–proton exchange membrane fuel cells (DE-PEMFCs). The chemical and physical structure, morphologies, ethanol uptake and permeability, ion exchange capacities, water uptake, and proton conductivities were determined and found that transport properties of the membrane were affected by the GO loading. The composite membrane with optimum GO content (15 wt %) exhibited the highest proton conductivity of 9.5 × 10⁻³ Scm⁻¹ at 30°C, 3.24 × 10⁻² Scm⁻¹ at 60°C, respectively and reduced ethanol permeability until 1.75 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹. In the passive DE-PEMFC, the power density at 60°C were obtained as 5.84 mW cm⁻² higher than those by commercial Nafion 117 is 4.52 mW cm⁻². © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 46928.     

The Influence of Temperature and Composition on the Operation of Al Anodes for Aluminum‐Air Batteries

The influence of composition and temperature on the anode polarization and corrosion rate of pure Al and Al‐In anodic alloys in 8M NaON electrolyte has been investigated. High current density (more than 800 mA cm⁻²) and faradaic efficiency over 97% were observed for all investigated alloys at 60 °C. Lower temperature provides lower current density (200–300 mA cm⁻² at 40 °C, and less than 100 mA cm⁻² at 25 °C). Different formation of the product reaction layers was observed for pure aluminum and Al–0.41In alloy, leading to the different polarization character of the samples. The comparison of two Al‐In alloys with similar composition has been carried out. Al–0.45In alloy having a coarse‐grained structure had a more positive no‐current potential and lower value of anode limiting current (200 mA cm⁻² vs. 300 mA cm⁻²) compared with the fine‐grained Al–0.41In alloy, as well as greater parasitic corrosion rate and greater no‐current corrosion. The current‐voltage, power and discharge characteristics of the aluminum‐air cell with Al–0.41In anode and gas diffusion cathode have been investigated. Open circuit voltage of the cell is 1.934 V and the maximum power density of the cell is 240 mW cm⁻² at the voltage of 1.3 V.     

Styrene/phosphonic acid copolymers: Synthesis and thermal,mechanical, and electrochemical characterization

In this study, a series of poly(styrene‐co‐vinyl phosphonic acid) [P(S‐co‐VPA)] copolymers were synthesized by the free‐radical copolymerization of styrene and vinyl dimethyl phosphonate followed by alkaline hydrolysis. The P(S‐co‐VPA) copolymers were characterized by size exclusion chromatography (gel permeation chromatography), Fourier transform infrared vibrational spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Despite the difference between the copolymerization ratios of styrene and vinyl dimethyl phosphonate, the resulting copolymers presented single glass transitions at temperatures that depended on the acidic group amount. The glass transition shifted to a higher temperature and became broader as the amount of phosphonic acid increased. The storage modulus at temperatures higher than the glass transition also increased with increasing acidic groups because of intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. All of the acid copolymers were thermally stable to at least 300°C. A high oxidative stability was found for 3 : 1 P(S‐co‐VPA), which also presented conductivity values on the order of 10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at room temperature. The 1 : 1 P(S‐co‐VPA) membrane presented Arrhenius‐type behavior at temperatures from 30 to 80°C and conductivity on the order of 10⁻⁵ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Investigation on the Thermal Expansion and Theoretical Density of 1,3,5‐Trinitro‐1,3,5‐Triazacyclohexane

The CTE and the theoretical density are important properties for energetic materials. To obtain the CTE and the theoretical density of 1,3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazacyclohexane (RDX), XRD, and Rietveld refinement are employed to estimate the dimensional changes, within the temperature range from 30 to 170 °C. The CTE of a, b, c axis and volume are obtained as 3.07×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹, 8.28×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹, 9.19×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹, and 20.7×10⁻⁵ K⁻¹, respectively. Calculated from the refined cell parameters, the theoretical density at the given temperature can be obtained. The theoretical density at 20 °C (1.7994 g cm⁻³) is in close match with the RDX single‐crystal density (1.7990 g cm⁻³) measured by density gradient method. It is suggested that the CTE measured by XRD could perfectly meet with the thermal expansion of RDX.     

Lattice dynamics of yttria: A combined investigation from spectrum measurements and first-principle calculations

C-type Y₂O₃ ceramics (relative density ~94%) were prepared at 1500 °C for 2 hours with 1% wt. ZnO as sintering aid. The cell parameters of Y₂O₃ from Rietveld refinements are a = 10.6113(1) Å, V = 1194.8(1) ų. The vibrational modes / lattice dynamics of Y₂O₃ were investigated using vibrational spectra (Raman and infrared reflection spectra) and first-principle (DFT) calculations. Eight of the 22 predicted first-order Raman modes and 12 of 16 predicted IR modes are observed and reliably assigned. For the observed vibrational modes, an excellent linearity (f_exp = 1.023f_theo, R² = 0.9999) between frequency from calculations (f_theo) and that from measurements (f_exp) is observed. Accordingly, the corrected frequency (f_cor) of vibrational modes, phonon band structure, and density of phonon states (DOPS) of Y₂O₃ are presented, in which, the frequency of phonons of Y₂O₃ is ≤625.2 cm⁻¹ (wavelength ≥16.0 μm) with a gap of 30.6 cm⁻¹ from 486.0 to 516.6 cm⁻¹ (wavelength 20.6 - 19.4 μm) at room temperature. The modes with f_theo ≥292.5 cm⁻¹ (f_cor ≥299.2 cm⁻¹) are dominated by the vibrations of O²⁻ (light atom vibrations) and the vibrational modes with f_theo ≤239.0 cm⁻¹ (f_cor ≤244.5 cm⁻¹) are dominated by the vibrations of both Y³⁺ and O²⁻ (co-vibrations). The three modes T_u⁽⁷⁾ at 301.6 cm⁻¹, T_u⁽¹⁰⁾ at 333.7 cm⁻¹, and T_u⁽¹²⁾ at 369.7 cm⁻¹ of Y-O stretch vibrations dominate the phonon dielectric constant and dielectric loss of Y₂O₃ with more than 85% contributions.     

Solvent-deficient method lowers grain-boundary resistivity of doped ceria

Nanoparticles of gadolinium-doped cerium oxide (GDC) were synthesized using solvent-deficient method and their sinterability and electrical properties were investigated using the powder and cold sintering process. The GDC powder was uniaxially pressed into cylindrically-shaped pellets with a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide at 200°C to encourage particle arrangement during forming process. These bulk samples were annealed using two different temperature profiles: at 800°C for 5 hours and at 1300°C for 1 minute—800°C for 5 hours. The samples produced using HNO₃/H₂O₂ mixture showed higher relative density than ones without it. Ionic conductivity of the sample sintered through the two-step profile was obtained from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Although the grain conductivity for the samples (8.0 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 500°C, and 3.3 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 700°C) is on par with a conventionally sintered sample, the measured total conductivity (3.9 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 500°C, and 2.5 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 700°C) is about 10 times higher than the conventionally sintered one and is comparable to the values seen in the previous studies for GDC which employed higher sintering temperature, pointing to the effectively lower grain-boundary impedance. This result could be attributed to no significant phase segregation along grain boundaries due to the low-temperature processing.     

Electrochemical Performance of MnO2‐based Air Cathodes for Zinc‐air Batteries

This paper compares the oxygen reduction on four MnO₂‐based air cathodes assembled in home‐made electrochemical cells, with some particular observations on α‐MnO₂ cathode. The results show that the catalytic activity decreases in the following order: electrolytic MnO₂ (EMD) > natural MnO₂ (NMD) > β‐MnO₂ > α‐MnO₂. The maximum power density of the zinc‐air battery with EMD as the catalyst reaches up to 141.8 mW cm⁻² at the current density of 222.5 mA cm⁻², which is about 60%, 20% and 10% higher than that of α‐MnO₂ (90.0 mW cm⁻² at 120.3 mA cm⁻²), β‐MnO₂ (121.5 mW cm⁻² at 150.4 mA cm⁻²) and NMD (128.2 mW cm⁻² at 207.8 mA cm⁻²), respectively. It is believed that its unique crystal structure and biggest BET surface area make EMD have the smallest charge transfer resistance (R_ct), thus EMD has the highest activity.     

Studying the co-reaction of propenyl-substituted cyanate ester-bismaleimide blends using model compounds

Reactive modifiers, bearing cyanate and/or alkenyl groups have been shown to improve the thermo-mechanical and water uptake properties of cured bismaleimides and BMI/cyanate ester blends. The allyl-substituted modifiers have been the subject of much study, but the reaction mechanism of the more reactive propenyl analogues (for which lower moisture absorptions have been recorded) have not received much attention until the present study. The synthesis and full characterisation of model maleimide and propenyl-substituted aryl cyanate compounds is reported. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy and thermal analysis techniques are used to examine the thermally initiated co-reaction between blends of the two model compounds. Raman spectroscopy reveals that as the thermal reaction proceeds, there is a pronounced decrease in the alkenyl CC stretch band at 1655 cm⁻¹ as a function of temperature and this is accompanied by a concomitant decrease in the vinylidene band at 3010 cm⁻¹. In the absence of a dedicated catalyst, the cyanate cyclotrimerization is slow and follows the co-reaction between the alkenyl group and the maleimide ring. Molecular modelling experiments using semi-empirical and ab initio methods support the formation of the trans ene adduct which is consistent with calculated and observed vibrational frequencies.     

The effect of carbonyl group on sorption of CO2 in glassy polymers

The interaction of CO₂ and polymers was investigated by examining the sorption isotherms and the desorption time variation of characteristic IR absorption bands. From the time variation of the bending mode (ν₂) of CO₂ at near 660 cm⁻¹ and the antisymmetric stretching mode (ν₃) of CO₂ at near 2340 cm⁻¹, the CO₂ within the polymer film containing carbonyl groups (e.g. poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)) was much more difficult to outgas than the polymer film containing phenyl rings (e.g. polystyrene (PS)). From the red shift of the stretching mode of carbonyl groups at near 1740 cm⁻¹ for the PMMA film upon CO₂ treatments, the bonding force of the carbonyl group–CO₂ interaction is much weaker than that of the conventional hydrogen bonding and Lewis acid–base interaction. The CO₂ was surprisingly found to be present within PMMA for about 6 months after CO₂ treatments as demonstrated by the shifting of loss maxima of dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) toward low temperatures.     

Compatibility study in poly(tetramethyleneadipate‐co‐terephthalate)/polystyrene bioblends

Bioblends of the biodegradable copolyester poly(tetramethyleneadipate‐co‐terephthalate) (EBU) and polystyrene (PS) were prepared in different weight compositions on a twin‐screw extruder at 160–200°C. The various bioblend compositions were then investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), and Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR‐PAS). TGA studies showed that 25/75 and 50/50 EBU/PS blends had higher thermal stability than the more thermally stable blend component, PS. The MDSC studies showed a single T_g and single T_m for the blends, that were concentration independent. The FTIR‐PAS studies indicated a small shift (4–8 cm^?1) in the carbonyl absorption peaks of EBU to lower wavenumbers in 50/50 EBU/PS blend relative to that of neat EBU. It is concluded that, while the MDSC results were inconclusive, the TGA and FTIR‐PAS results support the existence of some degree of intermolecular interaction between EBU and PS components and, hence, partial compatibility in EBU/PS blends. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Supercritical CO2-assisted extrusion foaming: A suitable process to produce very lightweight acrylic polymer micro foams

A strategy of CO₂-assisted extrusion foaming of PMMA-based materials was established to minimize both foam density and porosities dimension. First a highly CO₂-philic block copolymer (MAM: PMMA-PBA-PMMA) was added in PMMA in order to improve CO₂ saturation before foaming. Then the extruding conditions were optimized to maximize CO₂ uptake and prevent coalescence. The extruding temperature reduction led to an increase of pressure in the barrel, favorable to cell size reduction. With the combination of material formulation and extruding strategy, very lightweight homogeneous foams with small porosities have been produced. Lightest PMMA micro foams (ρ = 0.06 g cm⁻³) are demonstrated with 7 wt% CO₂ at 130°C and lightest blend micro foams (ρ = 0.04 g cm⁻³) are obtained at lower temperature (110°C, 7.7 wt% CO₂). If MAM allows a reduction of T^foaming, it also allows a much better cell homogeneity, an increase in cell density (e.g., from 3.6 10⁷ cells cm⁻³ to 2 to 6 10⁸ cells cm⁻³) and an overall decrease in cell size (from 100 to 40 μm). These acrylic foams produced through scCO₂-assisted extrusion has a much lower density than those ever produced in batch (ρ ≥ 0.2 g cm⁻³).     

Synthesis and Electrochemical Properties of BaFe1−xCuxO3−δ Perovskite Oxide for IT‐SOFC Cathode

A series of iron‐based perovskite oxides BaFe_1−xCu_xO_3−δ (x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25, abbreviated as BFC‐10, BFC‐15, BFC‐20 and BFC‐25, respectively) as cathode materials have been prepared via a combined EDTA‐citrate complexing sol‐gel method. The effects of Cu contents on the crystal structure, chemical stability, electrical conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) and electrochemical properties of BFC‐x materials have been studied. All the BFC‐x samples exhibit the cubic phase with a space group Pm3m (221). The electrical conductivity decreases with increasing Cu content. The maximum electrical conductivity is 60.9 ± 0.9 S cm⁻¹ for BFC‐20 at 600 °C. Substitution of Fe by Cu increases the thermal expansion coefficient. The average TEC increases from 20.6 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ for BFC‐10 to 23.7 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ for BFC‐25 at the temperature range of 30–850 °C. Among the samples, BFC‐20 shows the best electrochemical performance. The area specific resistance (ASR) of BFC‐20 on SDC electrolyte is 0.014 Ω cm² at 800 °C. The single fuel cell with the configguration of BFC‐20/SDC/NiO‐SDC delivers the highest power density of 0.57 W cm⁻² at 800 °C. The favorable electrochemical activities can be attributed to the cubic lattice structure and the high oxygen vacancy concentration caused by Cu doping.     

Effect of conductive polyaniline in thermoplastic natural rubber blends on the mechanical,thermal stability,and electrical conductivity properties

This research was conducted to fabricate thermoplastic natural rubber/polyaniline (TPNR/PANI) blends via melt blending method using an internal mixer and followed by compression molding. The effects of PANI contents between 1 and 5 wt % PANI in the TPNR blends on the mechanical properties, thermal stability, electrical conductivity (impedance), and morphology observation were investigated. The TPNR/3 wt % PANI sample exhibited the highest tensile strength (3.7 MPa), elongation at break (583%), flexural strength (1.8 MPa), flexural modulus (37.0 MPa), and impact strength (7.1 kJ m⁻²). From the aspect of thermal properties, it was found that with the addition of PANI, the thermal stability of the TPNR/PANI increased. Comparing to nonconductive TPNR sample, the incorporation of PANI promoted the electrical conductivity characteristic to PANI-filled TPNR blends which showing a magnitude order of 10⁻⁹ S cm⁻¹. Scanning electron microscopy micrograph revealed the good distribution of PANI at the optimum content (3 wt % PANI) in the TPNR blends and the good interaction between TPNR and PANI. It can be concluded that the TPNR blends incorporated with a low loading of PANI could be a newly good conductive material. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47527.     

Nafion® reinforced with polyacrylonitrile/ZrO2 nanofibers for direct methanol fuel cell application

Nafion® membrane blended with polyacrylonitrile nanofibers decorated with ZrO₂ was successfully fabricated. The composite membrane showed improved proton conductivity, swelling ratio, thermal and mechanical stability, reduced methanol crossover, and enhanced fuel cell efficiency. The nanocomposite membranes achieved a reduced methanol crossover of 5.465 × 10⁻⁸ cm² S⁻¹ compared to 9.118 × 10⁻⁷ cm² S⁻¹ of recast Nafion® membrane using a 5 M methanol solution at 80°C. The composite membrane also showed an ion conductivity of 1.84 compared to 0.25 S cm⁻¹ recast Nafion® at 25°C. The composite membranes showed a peak power density of 68.7 mW·cm⁻² at 25°C, these results show a promising composite membrane for fuel cell application.     

Interface,thermal, and Fourier transform—infrared spectroscopy investigation on polylactic acid/polyhydroxyalkanoate composites with silane-treated aluminum particles and intercalated montmorillonite inclusions for semiconductor devices

In this investigation, the dielectric properties of silane-influenced aluminum conductive particles in polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and intercalated montmorillonite (MMT) composite were assessed for enhancing the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and AC conductivities. Eight different sets of samples were fabricated with untreated and silane-treated batches of biopolymer composites where the highest recorded dielectric constant was 3.98 at relaxation frequency of 10 kHz. One of the notable observations in the dielectric loss was with PLA/PHA/iMMT/Al (10 wt%) (silane-treated) composites exhibited the lowest losses past relaxation frequencies. Furthermore, FT-IR spectra were conducted on the samples to identify stretching and bonds created by silane and aluminum particles. The IR spectra confirm the formation of the Si O Al bond when treated with 3-glycidyloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) solution and confirm the bond of Al OH hydroxyl bonds in the untreated composite samples. Other IR spectra information that was gathered would include carbonyl group stretching at 1750 cm⁻¹ and absorption bands of hydroxy acids, between 3511 and 3640 cm⁻¹, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy was performed on the sample to observe the formation of matrix cracks and exfoliation. A rough surface can be seen on PLA/PHA blends and the crystallization of these polymer blends regions can be vividly seen from the micrographs. Lastly, thermogravimetry analysis on the composite samples shows a predominant mass loss at 300°C before complete degradation and the notable composite with the lowest mass loss would be PLA/PHA/iMMT/Al (10 wt%) (ST) composite samples and with the inclusion of a constant 5 wt% organoclay MMT fillers imposed a high-onset degradation temperature, which was remarkable for composites that were fabricated through standard hot-press compression molding and cooling procedures.