03981ntm a2200337 i 4500 MY-KuUP 20251230145740.0 t||||fr|||| 000 0 ta 251230t20252025my a|||fr|||| 000 0 eng d THE0010190 (Local) Hardback UMPSA eng UMPSA rda FTKKP .R36 2025 r Thesis Qasem Ramzi Hasan Ali Saghir, Effects of mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of polylactic acid (PLA) /polyoxymethylene (POM) graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) nanocomposites / Qasem Ramzi Hasan Ali Saghir Kuantan, Pahang : UMPSA, 2025 UMPSA, © 2025 xiii, 89 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm. + 1 CD-ROM. rdacontent text rdamedia unmediated rdacarrier volume rda text file PDF Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology Thesis (Master of Science) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang – 2025 Includes bibliographical references Environmental pollution is increasing daily due to the extensive use of plastics, raising the demand for environmentally friendly materials. This study focuses on developing bio-based plastics to promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a biodegradable polymer derived from renewable resources, is a promising alternative to petroleum-based plastics but suffers from brittleness and low elongation at break. To improve its properties, PLA was blended with polyoxymethylene (POM), known for its toughness, although their binary blends are typically immiscible with low strength. This research employed Joncryl ADR®-4368 as a chain extender (CE) to enhance chemical interactions in PLA/POM blends. Additionally, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were incorporated to further improve mechanical strength and thermal stability.The samples were prepared using a twin-screw extruder with the temperature between 180 and 210 ºC and 35 rpm of screw speed. The nanocomposites blends were characterized based on morphological, mechanical, thermal and chemical properties.The optimal PLA/POM blend ratio and CE concentration were determined based on peak tensile stress and elongation at break. At 60% POM, elongation increased significantly from 2.58% to 12.28%, while tensile strength slightly decreased compared to pure PLA. Adding 0.4 wt% Joncryl ADR®-4368 to PLA40/POM60 enhanced tensile strength to 51.28 MPa and elongation to 13.96%, with higher concentrations causing property decline. Incorporation of 3 wt% GNP further improved tensile strength and elongation by 2.6% and 4.4%, respectively, while higher GNP content reduced these properties. Morphological analysis via SEM and FESEM revealed that the optimal GNP dispersion of 3 wt% provided the best uniformity and improved properties. Thermal analysis revealed that the blend with 60% POM had a decrease in the melting temperature (Tm) of 5°C, whereas the addition of 0.4 wt% ADR increased the Tm by 4°C and the crystallinity (Xc) by 22°C. The thermal degradation profile indicated improved stability for PLA/POM/ADR/GNP3 compared with PLA/POM/GNP1 and GNP5. The XRD results suggested that GNP incorporation influenced the crystallinity of the blend, and the FTIR analysis confirmed that there was no chemical interaction between the polymer matrix and GNP. In conclusion, the optimum formulation was found to be PLA40/POM60/ADR0.4 with 3 wt.% GNPs, which significantly improved the material’s mechanical and thermal properties. This study highlights a viable strategy for developing sustainable, high-performance bioplastics suitable for broader engineering applications. Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology Dissertations Universities and colleges Dissertations Theses Dissertations lcc THESIS 0 0 lcc 0 0 10000 10000 2025-12-30 0 FTKKP .R36 2025 r Thesis T000003899 2025-12-30 14:43:08 2025-12-30 RESTRICT 0 0 lcc 0 6 10000 10000 2025-12-30 0 CD13820 T000003900 2025-12-30 14:43:50 2025-12-30 RESTRICT 103809 103815