Synthesis of light conversion films through biodegradable polylactide/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) combined with europium(iii) complexes†

Abstract

Developing biodegradable light conversion films is of great significance in the agriculture and environment fields. In this work, two types of light conversion films were successfully prepared using biodegradable polylactide (PLA) and poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) combined with different amounts of europium(III) complexes (0.1%,0.3%, and 0.5%) through solution casting. Europium(III) complexes were dispersed uniformly in PLA/PBAT, the hydrophilicity of the films increased with the addition of europium(III) complexes. The films with a light transmittance of up to 80% displayed excellent light conversion capabilities and could convert UV-vis light into red light. Meanwhile, the tensile strength and elongation at the break of the PLA/PBAT/0.5% europium(III) complex film reached 41.05 MPa and 19.29%, respectively. This work provides new ideas for research on degradable light conversion films.