CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study Case A polymer is a molecule with extremely high molecular weight constructed from repetition of small and simple chemical unit. These small and simple chemical unit are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds through a chemical reactions known as polymerization. Generally, polymer can divided into three main group such as homopolymers, copolymers and composites. Polymers whose structure can be represented by multiple repetition of a single type of repeat unit which may contain one or more species of monomer unit known as homopolymers. Examples for homopolymers are poly(lactic acid (PLA, polyethylene (PE, polyvinyl chloride (PVC and etc. A copolymer or heteropolymer is a polymer derived from two or more different types of repeating unit, as opposed to a homopolymer. Example for copolymer are the synthetic rubber used to make tire treads and shoe soles that made of the monomers butadiene and styrene. Composite is any material made of more than one components with significantly different physical or chemical properties. A composite has a properties of both its components. Composites are usually made of two components that is fiber and matrix. The fiber used in this project is graphene nanoplatlet nanocomposite GNP but the matrix used is PLA. Fiber reinforced composites are materials in which a fiber made of one material is embedded in another material. The fiber is embedded in the matrix in order to make the matrix stronger. Fiber reinforced composites are often stronger than steel, but weight much less. Natural fiber is any hair like raw material directly obtained from animal, vegetable, or mineral source. The usefulness of the fiber

for commercial purposes is determined by such properties as length, strength, elasticity, abrasion resistance and etc. 1.2 Poly (lactic acid Biodegradable polymers have recently attracted great interest in the scientific community because environmental pollution by plastics has assumed significant proportions. Among the various possible routes to eliminate plastics wastes, biodegradation and bio-recycling are regarded as attractive solutions, and it has become a rather widely adopted opinion that biodegradable polymers have a well-grounded role in solving the waste problem [3,4]. In the family of biodegradable synthetic polymers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) appears to be one of the most attractive for film applications in agriculture and as a packaging material [5], because of its facile availability, good biodegradability and good mechanical properties. Since it is biodegradable, and can be processed to have such a wide variety of properties and some commercial uses such as resorbable micro spheres and implant for the drugs and vaccines (Dawn et al., 1999 . PLA is a thermoplastic polymer made from lactic acid that can be obtained by means of a fermentation process using glucose from corn. (Huda et al. 27 and has mainly been used for biodegradable product, such as plastics bags and planting cups, but in principle PLA can also be used as a matrix material in composites (Oksman et al., 2. By the dehydration process, lactic acids are used in preparation of PLA. This lactic acids are methyl-substituted glycolic acids that commonly can be produced in chiral and racemic forms by fermentation process of corn and other agricultural sources. In preparation of PLA, metal alkoxide catalysts are used for the ring open polymerization of lactide, which is cyclic dimer produced from the dehydration of lactic acid (9)

Dehydration

PLA comes in two common forms that is polyLlactic acid (PLLA and polyDlactic acid. The proportion of the L- and D- isomeric forms will determine the properties of the polymer, i.e. if the material is amorphous or semi-crystalline [6,7] PLLA is blended with PDLA to improve its physical properties that can form a highly regular stereo complex with increased crystallinity and increased melting point. PDLA can be used as a nucleating agent, thereby increasing the crystallization rate. Due to the higher crystallinity of the stereo complex, the biodegradability will become slower. However, it is interesting to note that this polymer blend remains transparent. PLA is a high-strength and high-modulus polymer (Wang et al. 28 . But there are some weakness that make PLA polymer unsuitable for many packaging and appliance application such as poor commercial availability, poor processability, low toughness, high rate of water permeation, water sensitivity and brittleness (Oksman et al. , 2 . However, this problem can be solved by reinforcing PLA with fibers, which enhance its mechanical and thermal stability.

Properties of PLA such as melting point, mechanical strength, and crystallinity are determined by the polymer architecture (i.e., proper addition of hydrolic compound. As for other plastics, final user properties of PLA also depend on compounding and processing additions. The proportion of D and L lactides determines polymer morphology and PLA can be produced totally amorphous or up to 40% crystalline. The result in PLA polymers with a wide range of hardness and stiffness values. The glass transition temperature of PLA (Tg ranges from 50oC to 80oC while the melting temperature (Tm ranges from 130 to 180oC. Period of time for PLA totally degraded around 6 mounts to 5 years according to type of PLA. Now days PLA is used as a food-packaging polymer for short shelf life products with common application such as drinking cup, containers and blister packages. Beside that, according to its biodegrable, PLA become one of important materials in medical industry because PLA can be assimilated by biological system. Since PLA can be assimilated by the body, it has found important application in sustained release drug delivery system.