ABSTRACT Polymer aging over time, induced by environmental factors and the evolution of time‐dependent properties, poses a significant challenge for maintaining the long‐term performance of polymeric materials, especially of biobased origin. This study describes the synthesis of octaspherosilicates (OSS) with mixed methacrylate (MA) and hexyl (HEX) as functional groups and their application to enhance the impact toughness and ductility of polylactide (PLA). The PLA/OSS composites exhibited a notable improvement in impact strength (up to ~50 kJ/m 2 ) and elongation at break (above 150%) due to plasticization of the PLA matrix, confirmed by rheological data. Furthermore, to evaluate how the aging factors affect initial PLA and PLA/OSS performance, a complex comparative study of bulk and surface properties was conducted. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy supported by XRD and DSC analyses provide structural insight into the recrystallization mechanisms responsible for the observed alteration in mechanical properties and changes in barrier properties over aging exposition. Moreover, surface analysis revealed a complex relationship between changes in roughness and surface layers' chemical recomposition (XPS) on their wettability (WCA) due to degradation.
Głowacka et al. (Sun,) studied this question.