MISCIBILITY AND MORPHOLOGY OF POLY(LACTIC ACID)/POLY(Β‐HYDROXYBUTYRATE) BLENDS

The miscibility and morphology of poly(lactic)acid (PLA)/polyβ‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) prepared by melt blending method were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melt rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations. FTIR and DSC methods present some limits to examine the miscibility state of PLA/PHB blends. This drawback can be overcome with the Cole‐Cole method by observing the $η” = f(η’)$ curves to confirm the miscibility of semicrystalline PLA/ semicrystalline PHB blends. MEB micrographs of fractured surface of blends were also used to investigate the miscibility of these blends.