Thermochimica Acta, Vol.580, 53-62, 2014
Miscibility, thermal properties and polymorphism of stereocomplexation of high-molecular-weight polylactide/poly(D,L-lactide) blends
High-molecular-weight stereocomplex-poly(L- and D-lactide) (sc-PLA) and poly(D, L-lactide) (PDLLA) blends were prepared by solution blending. The miscibility, crystallization kinetics, melting behavior and crystal structure of sc-PLA/PDLLA blends were investigated. The single composition-dependent T(g)s of the blends indicated the miscible characteristic of the blend system at all compositions. The interesting aspect of this research is that the polymorphic crystallization of high-molecular-weight sc-PLA could be tailored by incorporation of miscible PDLLA with different dynamic and isothermal crystallization conditions. Full stereocomplexation can be formed with 70 wt% PDLLA, irregardless of the crystallization conditions. The possible mechanism of the polymorphic crystallization of high-molecular-weight sc-PLA by incorporation of miscible PDLLA has been tried to propose. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.