Multifunctional Polylactic Acid Composites Filled with Activated Carbon Particles Obtained from Acrylic Fibrous Wastes Salman Naeem, Vijay Baheti , Jiri Militky, Azam Ali Department of Material Engineering, Faculty of Textile Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentska 2, Liberec, 46117, Czech Republic The objective of this work was to explore the poten- tials of porous and electrically conductive activated carbon particles for possible enhancement of multi- functional properties of PLA. The activated carbon was inexpensively prepared from acrylic fibrous wastes by novel single stage carbonization and physical activa- tion. The influence of 8008C, 1,0008C, and 1,2008C car- bonization temperature on physical, morphological, and electrical properties was studied from EDX, X-ray diffraction, SEM, and BET analysis. Later, the carbon- ized acrylic fibrous waste was pulverized in dry condi- tions by high energy planetary ball milling to get activated carbon particles. The particles were then incorporated into PLA under 1, 5 and 10 wt% loading to prepare composite films by solvent casting, and their electrical conductivity, EMI shielding, thermo- mechanical, and thermal stability properties were investigated. POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000–000, 2017. V C 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers INTRODUCTION Recently, the search of different alternatives for replacement of petroleum-based plastics has gained sig- nificant importance due to increasing environmental con- sciousness in the society. The biodegradable polymers can be considered as attractive substitutions for nonbiode- gradable plastics. The polylactic acid (PLA) has become more popular among various biopolymers owing to its unique properties such as biocompatibility and biodegrad- ability [1]. It is thermoplastic aliphatic polyester produced by the ring-opening polymerization of lactide from renewable sources like tapioca roots, corn starch or sugar- cane [2]. It is well known for its degradability into natural products within a short time frame (0.5–2 years). Despite many advantages, the high brittleness, poor electrical conductivity and poor thermal stability of PLA currently limits its range of applications [3]. For example, a small spark of static charge may cause a fire or even an explosion while the transmission of electromagnetic waves may cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as harm to the human body due to their insulating nature [3]. Therefore, further research is necessary to improve the electrical conductivity of PLA-based compo- sites for applications in biomedical, packaging, electrical, and electronic industry, and other high technology fields. Supronowicz et al. reported the ideal electrical conductiv- ity of PLA for bone growth, whereas Raja et al. reported the remarkable recoverability of shape for the potential medical applications [4]. Surprisingly, there are only few PLA-based studies with improved electrical and thermal properties in the lit- erature. The several types of carbon particles (i.e., carbon black, carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerenes, etc.) have been used for fabrication of conductive PLA composites. However, the poor solubility or dispersity of carbon par- ticles as a result of their increased aggregation/entangle- ment is still important limitation [5]. The inconsistent improvement in properties of PLA composites was found in number of previous studies mainly due to lack of com- patibility between PLA and carbon particles. Surface functionalization of carbon particles is often required to adjust the compatibility with the polymer matrix. This has attracted attention on activated carbon particles for the development of low cost and multifunctional conductive PLA composites. Recently, the reinforcement of bamboo charcoal particles have been discussed for enhancement of mechanical, thermal, and optical properties of PLA, however no information was reported about their electri- cal conductivity [1]. The objective of this work was to explore the poten- tials of porous and electrically conductive activated car- bon particles (ACP) for possible enhancement of multifunctional properties of PLA. The activated carbon was inexpensively prepared from acrylic fibrous wastes Correspondence to: V. Baheti; e-mail: vijaykumar.baheti@gmail.com Contract grant sponsor: Student grant competition of Technical Univer- sity of Liberec no. 21198 granted by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Czech Republic. DOI 10.1002/pc.24695 Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). V C 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers POLYMER COMPOSITES—2017