Development of poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-grafted maleic anhydride (MA) / poly(caprolactone) (PCL)/murexide composites for automotive potential panel applications

Interior and exterior automotive panels often suffer constant damage, due to external factors such as ultraviolet (UV) light, cracks, or scratches, and even accidents cause damage that is difficult to repair. Self-repair materials can be a viable option to avoid it since they can self-repair or self-heal, using external stimuli such as electrical, photothermal, pressure, light, etc. To migrate to this application in the automotive field, this work relates to the design of a new composite based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(caprolactone) (PCL) incorporated with murexide (Mu) particles through solvent casting. Mu particles are proposed due to their capacity of interaction through OH and C = O groups with the PLA and PCL to produce probably self-healing properties. Structural, morphological, and mechanical properties are studied and discussed as the first step of the development. A numerical simulation of an interior panel is performed to verify the mechanical evaluation.Graphical abstractMurexide particles incorporation into PLA/PCL composites for handle-door automotive part