Abstract
Uniaxial polymer blend sheets were produced by melt-extruding from a mixture of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). These sheets were treated by use of O2- or Ar-plasma, and the surface effects were examined by the plasma susceptibility. Mass loss by plasma etching depended on the polymer blend ratio; the etching was greater in the blend sheets with higher ratio of PBS. Microstructures were formed on the surface as a result, and the sheets treated with Ar-plasma had a finer morphology than these treated with O2-plasma. A new IR absorption peak appeared at 1616 cm-1 in the PLLA portions in the polymer blends after the O2-plasma treatments. Plasma treatments increased the surface wetting of these polymer blends. PBS sheet was biologically degraded, but the degradation decreased substantially by the blending of PLLA even after the plasma treatments.
