Thermoplastic PLA-LCP Composites: A Route toward Sustainable, Reprocessable, and Recyclable Reinforced Materials.

Reprocessing of reinforced composites is generally accompanied by loss of value and performance, as normally the reinforcing phase is damaged, or the matrix is lost in the process. In the search for more sustainable recyclable composite materials, we identify blends based on poly(l-lactide) (PLA) and thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (LCP) as highly promising self-reinforced thermoplastic composites that can be recycled several times without loss in mechanical properties. For example, irrespective of the thermal history of the blend, injection molded bars of PLA containing 30 wt % LCP exhibit a tensile modulus of 6.