Abstract
In this study, differences in the kinetics of the thermal-supported hydrolytic degradation of polylactide (PLA) wet spinning fibres due to material variance in the initial molecular and supramolecular structure were analysed. The investigation was carried out at the microstructural and molecular levels by using readily available methods such as scanning electron microscopy, mass erosion measurement and estimation of intrinsic viscosity. The results show a varying degree of influence of the initial structure on the degradation rate of the studied PLA fibres. The experiment shows that hydrolytic degradation at a temperature close to the cold crystallization temperature is, on a macroscopic level, definitely more rapid for the amorphous material, while on a molecular scale it is similar to a semi-crystalline material. Furthermore, for the adopted degradation temperature of 90 °C, a marginal influence of the pH of the degradation medium on the degradation kinetics was also demonstrated.
Highlights
Poly(lactic acid) or polylactide (PLA) is the most commonly used biodegradable material, produced from completely renewable sources such as sugar, corn or other vegetables [1]
A very interesting phenomenon was observed in the investigation of the thermal-supported degradation of fibres made from PLA with 2.5%
The thermal-supported hydrolytic degradation experiment allows us to demonstrate the influences of temperature, or heat transfer, on the kinetics of hydrolytic degradation
Summary
Poly(lactic acid) or polylactide (PLA) is the most commonly used biodegradable material, produced from completely renewable sources such as sugar, corn or other vegetables [1]. This thermoplastic aliphatic polyester exhibits similar mechanical properties to popular petroleum-based polymers, with additional special properties such as compostability and biocompatibility/bioresorbability [2,3]. According to the physical and chemical properties, PLA is a promising alternative to petroleum-based polymers from an application point of view. The physical and chemical properties of final PLA products depend on the chirality of the polymer chains, and on the different supramolecular structures of the polymer chains. The high chirality of PLA chains reduces its ability to create a crystalline phase, which has a strong influence on the useful properties of the final products [17,18]
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