Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) was melt blended to prepare the PLA/ESO blends with high toughness. The effects of ESO contents on the phase morphologies
mechanical and rheological properties of the prepared PLA/ESO blends were investigated. The introduction of ESO significantly decreased melt viscosity and improved toughness of PLA. The PLA/ESO blend with low ESO content (10%) was a partially miscible system
whereas that with high ESO content (20% and 30%) exhibited distinct phase separation. Elongation at break and impact strength of the blends increased firstly and then decreased with increasing ESO content. The former reached the maximum value (17 times that of PLA) at ESO content of 20%
and the latter reached the maximum value (2.9 times that of PLA) at ESO content of 15%. Tensile strength of the blends decreased with increasing ESO content.