Abstract
The objective of this work is to study the thermal and mechanical properties of films based on blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with different weight percent of sorbitol. Solid-state PVA/sorbitol polymer membranes were prepared by a solution casting method. The characteristic properties of these polymer membranes were examined by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), nanoindentation methods and by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was found that the thermal properties (glass transition, Tg, melting point, Tm and decomposition temperature, Td) for PVA blends showed a decrease proportional to the sorbitol concentrations. The hardness and elastic modulus obtained from nanoindentation test were also found to decrease with increase in plasticizer concentration. FTIR confirmed the reduction in hydrogen bonding between PVA chains in favour of formation new bonding between the plasticizer and the PVA chains.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 925-930 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Materials Science & Engineering A: Structural Materials: Properties, Microstructure and Processing |
| Volume | 528 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 25 2011 |
Keywords
- FTIR
- Nanoindentation
- Poly(vinyl alcohol)
- Sorbitol
- Thermal analysis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering