Abstract
Poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a promising biomedical polymer material with a wide range of applications. The diverse enantiomeric forms of PLLA provide great opportunities for thermal and mechanical enhancement through stereocomplex formation. The addition of poly (d-lactic acid) (PDLA) as a nucleation agent and the formation of stereocomplex crystallization (SC) have been proven to be an effective method to improve the crystallization and mechanical properties of the PLLA. In this study, PLLA was blended with different amounts of PDLA through a melt blending process and their properties were calculated. The effect of the PDLA on the crystallization behavior, thermal, and mechanical properties of PLLA were investigated systematically by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), polarized optical microscopy (POM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tensile test. Based on our findings, SC formed easily when PDLA content was increased, and acts as nucleation sites. Both SC and homo crystals (HC) were observed in the PLLA/PDLA blends. As the content of PDLA increased, the degree of crystallization increased, and the mechanical strength also increased.
Highlights
(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a promising biomedical polymer material with a wide range of applications
Tsuji and Ikada reported that the tensile strength, stiffness, and heat resistance of stereocomplex PLLA/PDLA blends were much higher than those of pure PLLA or PDLA
Brochu et al proposed that stereocomplex crystallites could act as nucleation sites for homopolymers and accelerate homo crystallization (HC) [16]
Summary
(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a promising biomedical polymer material with a wide range of applications. SC formed when PDLA content was increased, and acts as nucleation sites Both SC and homo crystals (HC) were observed in the PLLA/PDLA blends. The poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a well-known biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that is synthesized from renewable resources [1,2,3,4], as such it has attracted more attention in order to grow its reducibility and eco-friendliness It is biocompatible and non-toxic and it is considered as a favorable material for wide use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, blood vessel engineering, tissue engineering, and scaffolding. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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