Effect of Curcumin Cross‐Linked Epoxy Soybean Oil on Mechanical Properties and <scp>UV</scp> Resistance of Polylactic Acid

ABSTRACT In order to improve the mechanical properties and UV resistance of polylactic acid (PLA) composites, a bio‐based additive (ESO‐CUR) was synthesized by one‐pot method. A new environment‐friendly toughening agent was synthesized by using epoxy soybean oil (ESO) as the core material and curcumin (CUR) as the curing agent. PLA composite material with toughening and UV resistance was prepared by melt blending process. Among them, the elongation at break of 6%ESO‐CUR/PLA reached 20.26% in the tensile test, which was 11.8 times higher than that of pure PLA. In addition, 6%ESO‐CUR/PLA has excellent UV resistance, and the UV protection factor (UPF) is increased from 3.1 to 15,485 of pure PLA. The results show that the new environmental protection toughening agent has a significant synergistic effect on improving the mechanical properties and UV protection properties of PLA. In order to reduce the white pollution caused by traditional plastics, it provides a new way to prepare biodegradable materials with excellent properties.