Structural, mechanical and thermal behavior assessments of PCL/PHB blends reactively compatibilized with organic peroxides

Abstract The efficiency of two commercially available organic peroxides, dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and di-(2-tert-butyl-peroxyisopropyl)-benzene (BIB), during reactive processing of poly(e-caprolactone)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PCL/PHB) blends was investigated. The changes in chemical structure of PCL/PHB blends, as a function of organic peroxide type (DCP/BIB) and content (in range: 0–1.0 parts by weight - pbw), were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis combined with infrared spectroscopy, and headspace analysis combined with gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. Performance properties of PCL/PHB blends were evaluated based on diffe…