Recent Advances in the Investigation of Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) Nanocomposites: Incorporation of Various Nanofillers and their Properties and Applications

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is considered the most promising biobased substitute for fossil-derived polymers due to its compostability, biocompatibility, renewability, and good thermomechanical properties. However, PLA suffers from several shortcomings, such as low heat distortion temperature, thermal resistance, and rate of crystallization, whereas some other specific properties, i.e., flame retardancy, anti-UV, antibacterial or barrier properties, antistatic to conductive electrical characteristics, etc., are required by different end-use sectors. The addition of different nanofillers represents an attractive way to develop and enhance the properties of neat PLA. Numerous nanofillers with different architectures and properties have been investigated, with satisfactory achievements, in the design of PLA nanocomposites. This review paper overviews the current advances in the synthetic routes of PLA nanocomposites, the imparted properties of each nano-additive, as well as the numerous applications of PLA nanocomposites in various industrial fields.