Abstract Acetylated malic acid alkyl esters (AcMAE-Cn) with different alkyl chain lengths, as alternative plasticizers for both poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA), were synthesized by the esterification of renewable malic acid with alcohols and subsequent acetylation. The molecular structure of the synthesized plasticizers was confirmed using 1H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. PVC or PLA blends containing 50 phr of the plasticizers were evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile testing, and migration testing to evaluate the plasticization efficiency. The plasticized PVC films presented good plasticizing performance, as demonstrated by the results of tensile and migration testing and the Tg values (as determined by DMA). Among the plasticizers, AcMAE-C6 and AcMAE-C8 presented enhanced plasticizing performance compared with that of the commercial dioctyl adipate (DOA) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) plasticizers. Additionally, the plasticizing properties of the plasticized PLA films depend significantly on the structure of the plasticizers. It was found that plasticizers (AcMAE-C4 and AcMAE-C6) bearing short alkyl groups (n-butyl and n-hexyl, respectively) may act as excellent plasticizers. In summary, the AcMAE-C6 plasticizer showed potential as an alternative plasticizer for both PVC and PLA polymers.

中文翻译：

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用于 PVC 和 PLA 聚合物的可再生苹果酸基增塑剂

摘要 具有不同烷基链长度的乙酰化苹果酸烷基酯 (AcMAE-Cn) 作为聚氯乙烯 (PVC) 和聚乳酸 (PLA) 的替代增塑剂，是通过可再生苹果酸与醇和随后的乙酰化。合成增塑剂的分子结构通过 1H NMR 和 FT-IR 光谱确定。通过动态力学分析 (DMA)、拉伸测试和迁移测试来评估含有 50 份增塑剂的 PVC 或 PLA 共混物，以评估增塑效率。拉伸和迁移测试的结果以及 Tg 值（由 DMA 确定）证明了增塑 PVC 薄膜具有良好的增塑性能。在增塑剂中，与市售的己二酸二辛酯 (DOA) 和邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基) (DEHP) 增塑剂相比，AcMAE-C6 和 AcMAE-C8 表现出增强的增塑性能。此外，增塑 PLA 薄膜的增塑性能在很大程度上取决于增塑剂的结构。发现带有短烷基（分别为正丁基和正己基）的增塑剂（AcMAE-C4 和 AcMAE-C6）可作为优异的增塑剂。总之，AcMAE-C6 增塑剂显示出作为 PVC 和 PLA 聚合物替代增塑剂的潜力。发现带有短烷基（分别为正丁基和正己基）的增塑剂（AcMAE-C4 和 AcMAE-C6）可作为优异的增塑剂。总之，AcMAE-C6 增塑剂显示出作为 PVC 和 PLA 聚合物替代增塑剂的潜力。发现带有短烷基（分别为正丁基和正己基）的增塑剂（AcMAE-C4 和 AcMAE-C6）可作为优异的增塑剂。总之，AcMAE-C6 增塑剂显示出作为 PVC 和 PLA 聚合物替代增塑剂的潜力。