Abstract: Bacterial cellulose (BC) was grafted with maleic anhydride (MAH) and the product (BC-g-MAH) was mixed with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) by solvent casting forming composites. The structure and properties of the composites were studied by FTIR, DSC, tensile tester, and TGA analysis. It was found there was a good interfacial compatibility between the BC-g-MAH and PLA. When the content of BC-g-MAH was 20 wt %, the crystallinity, tensile strength, and tensile modulus of the composite increased by 17.1 %, 69.4 %, and 428.4 %, based on neat PLA, respectively. In addition, the composites showed a high thermal stability.

Key words: poly(lactic acid), bacterial cellulose, maleic anhydride, mechanical property