PLLA在稳态剪切场下的非等温结晶研究

利用光学流变显微镜(ORM)在线研究剪切场下左旋聚乳酸(PLLA)非等温结晶过程,采用差示扫描量热法(DSC)和广角X射线衍射(WAXD)研究了剪切后样品的热行为和结晶性能。实验结果表明,施加剪切作用不改变PLLA的晶型,但大大加快了结晶过程,提高了起始温度。PLLA在剪切场下的结晶形态主要受剪切速率的影响,当剪切速率高于临界剪切速率(10s-1)时,PLLA由球晶向串晶转变。随着剪切速率增大,串晶的数量变多变窄,结晶更完善,结晶度增大。与剪切速率相比,剪切时间对PLLA的非等温结晶影响影响较小。     

含柔性链段聚右旋乳酸嵌段共聚物对聚左旋乳酸拉伸行为的影响

采用聚右旋乳酸(PDLA)与聚乙二醇(PEG)的三嵌段共聚物(PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA)对聚左旋乳酸(PLLA)进行改性,系统研究熔融共混法制备的PLLA/PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA共混物的热性能和不同温度下的拉伸行为,并通过原位X射线散射(WAXS)技术探索不同含量的PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA对PLLA在拉伸过程中结晶行为的影响.结果表明,加入PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA对PLLA的热稳定性影响较小;PLLA/PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA共混物中由于立构晶的存在,能有效提高PLLA的α晶的结晶速率;室温(30°C)拉伸时,样品均呈现脆性断裂;拉伸温度提高至50°C,纯PLLA和PLLA/PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA(95/5)的共混物仍然呈现脆性断裂,但是随着PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA含量的增加,PLLA发生屈服,断裂伸长率由纯PLLA的10%左右提高至200%以上;80°C拉伸时,PDLA-b-PEG-b-PDLA的加入显著提高了PLLA在拉伸过程中的结晶速率,出现α晶的应变从纯PLLA的400%降低至50%以下,立构晶含量在拉伸过程中基本保持不变.上述结果显示含柔性链段的PDLA的嵌段共聚物可有效提高PLLA的结晶速率和延展性,拓宽PLLA的应用范围.     

PLLA-PEG共聚物的非等温结晶行为

采用熔融共聚法制备PLLA-PEG嵌段共聚物, 用WAXD和DSC方法研究其结晶行为, 并用Avrami方程的Jeziorny修正分析了非等温结晶动力学行为. 结果表明, PLLA结晶明显, 而PEG结晶难以观察到, PEG的柔性能促进PLLA结晶. PEG分子量的增加和投料量的增加都能使得结晶温度升高, 结晶度增大, 结晶速度加快.     

聚左旋乳酸/聚氧化乙烯共混物的拉伸行为及结构转变

采用熔融共混方法制备了聚左旋乳酸(PLLA)和超高分子量聚氧化乙烯(PEO)共混物, 通过差示扫描量热(DSC)、 扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和二维广角X射线散射(2D-WAXS)等方法系统研究了PEO的加入对不同温度下PLLA拉伸行为及拉伸过程中微观结构变化的影响. 结果表明, PLLA/PEO共混物为非均相体系, PEO粒子均匀分布在PLLA中形成两相结构. PEO的加入能够显著降低PLLA的玻璃化转变温度(T_g), 在25～60 ℃范围内显著提高PLLA的拉伸性能. 在60 ℃拉伸时, PEO的加入提高了PLLA在拉伸过程中的结晶和形变能力. 在80 ℃拉伸时, 共混物的拉伸断裂伸长率下降, 但共混物的结晶速度仍高于纯PLLA样品.     

非等温结晶对PLLA的热行为和形貌的影响

将聚L-乳酸(PLLA)熔化非等温熔融结晶, 采用DSC、POM、SEM等技术研究了降温速率对PLLA的热行为和形貌的影响. PLLA在低降温速率(2 ℃·min-1)下的结晶在118 ℃伴随有结晶机制的转变. 玻璃化温度和结晶度随着降温速率的降低而增大. 随着降温速率的降低, 球晶尺寸增大, 当降温速率为10 ℃·min-1 时, PLLA 为无定型材料. 采用模压成型的方法并控制降温速率制备了具有球晶结构的条状PLLA 生物材料, 与高降温速率下制备的PLLA相比,低降温速率下获得的具有球晶结构的PLLA材料的断面更光滑和致密, 但脆性增强.     

快压法制备非晶聚醚醚酮的应变诱导结晶行为

利用快速增压和淬火2种方法分别制备了非晶聚醚醚酮(PEEK), 并利用二维广角X射线衍射(WAXD)研究了2种非晶样品在不同拉伸温度(T_d)和不同应变速率(v)条件下的结晶行为. 结果表明, 在相同拉伸温度及应变速率条件下, 快压样品的临界结晶应变明显低于淬火样品; 随着拉伸温度和应变速率的升高, 2种样品的临界结晶应变均逐渐降低; 在相同应变条件下, 拉伸温度对PEEK材料结晶度的影响很大, 而应变速率对其影响较小.     

成核剂对应力诱导聚乳酸薄膜结晶的影响

为使PLA薄膜的结晶速度进一步加快,提高PLA薄膜的结晶度,提高薄膜的耐热性和力学强度,研究了成核剂对应力诱导PLA薄膜结晶的影响.利用XRD、DSC、FTIR等表征手段,对PLA薄膜拉伸前后的结晶状态进行了表征.研究表明,简单的引入成核剂,并不能实现成核剂和应力诱导促进PLA结晶的协同作用.相反,成核剂的引入会在很大程度上阻碍应力诱导结晶.即使成核剂在与拉伸温度相同的等温冷结晶过程中能够显著的提高PLA结晶速率,但在应力诱导结晶过程中,成核剂的引入使得拉伸后薄膜结晶度较纯PLA体系拉伸后薄膜明显更低.在相对较低的拉伸温度进行实验,成核剂同样起到阻碍应力诱导结晶进行的作用.同时,实验发现相对较低的拉伸温度,更有利于应力诱导结晶的进行,薄膜在较低温度拉伸后结晶度更高且更稳定.     

聚乳酸/纳米SiO_2复合材料的熔融和冷结晶行为

采用熔融共混法制备了聚乳酸(PLLA)/纳米SiO2复合材料;利用透射电镜观察了复合材料的微观形貌;利用差示扫描量热仪测定了该复合材料的熔融行为和非等温冷结晶行为;利用Jeziorny法和Mo法研究了PLLA及其复合材料的非等温冷结晶动力学.结果表明,纳米SiO2在PLLA基体中具有良好的分散性和异相成核作用,使得PLLA基体的结晶峰向低温方向移动;复合体系的熔融温度和熔融焓的变化与SiO2的加入量密切相关.采用Jeziorny法和Mo法均可以很好地处理复合材料的非等温冷结晶过程.     

快速增压制备非晶聚乳酸的等温冷结晶行为研究

通过快速增压法(RC)和自然冷却法(CN)分别制备出完全非晶的聚乳酸(PLA)样品,利用差示扫描量热仪(DSC)、偏光显微红外光谱仪(FTIR)和广角X-ray(WAXD)研究了2种非晶样品的初始结构、不同结晶温度下的等温冷结晶行为及最终的微观结构.结果表明,在温度为110、115、125、130、135及140℃下等温结晶时,RC样品的结晶速率明显高于CN样品;WAXD数据显示,结晶完成后RC样品的结晶度明显高于CN样品,但两者最终的晶粒尺寸大小相近,说明RC样品结晶过程中具有较高的成核密度;实验发现,PLA熔体在快速增压过程中很可能形成了某些类似物理老化样品中存在的局部有序结构,这些局部有序结构促进了晶核的形成,使冷结晶速率明显加快,结晶度提高.     

聚L-乳酸/聚(天冬氨酸-co-乳酸)共混物的制备及其相容性研究

采用氯仿/乙醇共沸溶液浇铸法制备了混合均匀的聚L-乳酸/聚(天冬氨酸-co-乳酸)共混物(PLLA/PAL)体系.研究了PLLA/PAL共混体系的热性能、结晶行为、形态结构和力学性能,评价了PLLA和PAL之间的相容性.结果表明,PAL对PLLA的结晶行为和热性能产生了较大的影响,共混物的结晶度较低,共混体系中部分PAL会进入PLLA球晶的片晶而导致PLLA球晶结构不完善,熔点降低.PAL的含量小于20%的PLLA/PAL共混物的拉伸强度和断裂延伸率均高于纯PLLA.PLLA和PAL分子链相互缠结,产生的氢键使分子链间存在较强的相互作用,具有较好的相容性.     

Characterization of drawn and undrawn poly-L-lactide films by differential scanning calorimetry

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is an optically active, biocompatible and biodegradable polymer that has been widely investigated as an artificial cell scaffold material. In its most crystalline form, PLLA is highly anisotropic and is one of the most piezoelectric polymers known. Conversely, amorphous PLLA exhibits little, if any, piezoelectric behavior. Compression molded PLLA films can be endowed with varying amounts of crystalline character and piezoelectricity by uniaxially stretching the polymer in a hot air bath. Understanding the precise crystalline architecture of PLLA that results from tensile drawing is important for constructing cell scaffolds that have highly tailored biodegradation and cell guiding properties. In our work here, we investigate the changes in the thermal properties of PLLA at draw ratios between 1.0 and 5.5 using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallinity of the compression molded undrawn starting material is characterized using X-ray diffraction. Our DSC results show an increase in percent crystallinity with increasing draw up to a draw ratio of 4.0. At greater draw ratios, there is a decrease in the crystalline character exhibited by PLLA.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparation of porous biodegradable PLLA with tunable pore size through simple variation of PEG/PLLA-blend crystallization conditions

In this study, porous poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) films are prepared via a facile and low-cost approach using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and solution casting. In contrast to most studies, the PEG/PLLA samples are further processed under different crystallization conditions (i.e., different PLLA crystallization temperatures) before PEG removal. As the PEG is extracted via solvent at higher PLLA crystallization temperatures, the resultant PLLA samples have larger pores. Interconnected fibrillar-shaped pores are found in all systems, and the fibrillar-porous structure width is ~150 nm–1.2 μm, as observed via scanning electron microscopy. These pore sizes can be tuned by adjusting the blend composition and crystallization temperature. In addition, PEG/PLLA blends are subjected to hydrolytic degradation analysis according to their crystallization conditions. Higher PLLA crystallization temperature yields higher PLLA crystallinity and larger pores, as well as reduced surface interaction with water. Therefore, the PLLA degradation rate is decreased. The developed PLLA films have potential applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering.     

Temperature-dependent Crystallization and Phase Transition of Poly(L-lactic acid)/CO_2 Complex Crystals

Semicrystalline polymers can crystallize in the unique crystalline polymorph and show different phase behaviors under the highpressure CO_2 treatment. Understanding such unique crystallization and phase transition behavior is of fundamental importance for the CO_2-assisited processing of semicrystalline polymers. Herein, we investigated the polymorphic crystalline structure, phase transition, and structureproperty relationships of poly(L-lactic acid)(PLLA) treated by CO_2 at different pressures(1-13 MPa) and crystallization temperatures(T_c's, 10-110 °C). PLLA crystallized in the PLLA/CO_2 complex crystals under 7-13 MPa CO_2 at T_c≤50 °C but the common α crystals under the high-pressure CO_2 at T_c≥70 °C. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicated that the PLLA/CO_2 complex crystals possessed weaker interactions between the PLLA chains than the common α crystals. The PLLA/CO_2 complex crystals were metastable and transformed into the thermally stableα crystals via the solid-to-solid route during heating or annealing at the temperature above 50 °C. The complex crystals of PLLA produced at low T_c was more ductile than the α crystals due to the lower crystallinity and the plasticizing effect of CO_2.     

FTIR Spectroscopic Study of Crystallization of Uniaxial Drawn Syndiotactic Polystyrene/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite Films

The crystallization of uniaxial hot drawn syndiotactic polystyrene/multi-walled carbon nanotube (sPS/MWCNT) nanocomposite films was studied by FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of MWCNT content, draw ratio and drawing temperature on the sPS crystallinity were investigated. The sPS/MWCMT nanocomposite films show reduced crystallinities with the increase of MWCNT content. In addition, with the increase of draw ratio, both the pure sPS and the sPS/MWCNT nanocomposite drawn films exhibit increased crystallinity. The effect of drawing temperature on the sPS crystallization is complex. In a temperature range of 100―135 ℃, the crystallinity decreases with drawing temperature, whereas it increases at 140 ℃ for both pure sPS and its nanocomposite films.     

The crystal structure and drawing induced polymorphism in poly(aryl ether ketone)s, 3. Crystallization during hot-drawing of poly(ether ether ketone ketone)

The evolution of crystallinity and polymorphism during hot-drawing of amorphous poly(ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK) as a function of strain rate, draw ratio, and temperature was investigated. In modification I, the competition of chain extension and molecular alignment is responsible for the strain rate and temperature dependence. Modification II crystallization is basically controlled by chain extension during stretching. The former can be transformed into the latter via relaxation during stretching or annealing at elevated temperature.     

Determination of crystalline content gradients in cold-drawn poly-L-lactic acid films by DSC

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a semi-crystalline, optically active, biodegradable, and biocompatible polymer that has been utilized extensively in biomedical applications as an implantable artificial cell scaffold material. In its crystalline form, PLLA is piezoelectric and it has been implicated in the enhancement of electromechanically induced osteogenesis in vivo. In its amorphous state, however, PLLA does not exhibit piezoelectricity. By uniaxially cold-drawing the polymer, PLLA can be endowed with varying degrees of piezoelectricity. It is important to understand the crystalline architecture of drawn PLLA so that the osteogenic potential imparted by piezoelectricity, if any, can be differentiated from the effects of sample crystallinity. In our work we investigate the induced crystallinity for samples of drawn PLLA at draw ratios between 1.0 and 5.5 by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). As long-range molecular ordering occurs along the draw axis, we observe an increase in the average percent crystallinity up to a draw ratio of 5.0 and a slight decrease at a draw ratio of 5.5. More importantly, we observe significant heterogeneity in the crystalline content along the draw axis of standard dumbbells cut from PLLA and cold-drawn to representative draw ratios of 2.5 and 4.0. On average, the highest percent crystallinity occurs nearest the dumbbell center, but the maximum crystallinity is independent of draw ratio. Therefore, the draw ratio should not be considered a semi-quantitative estimate of localized PLLA crystallinity and point-to-point analysis of crystallinity in PLLA samples is required for constructing scaffolds with enhanced cell growth properties. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Poly(L‐lactide)/C60 nanocomposites: Effects of C60 on crystallization of poly(L‐lactide)

The effects of solvent type and concentration of C₆₀ on the crystallization of poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) during solvent evaporation, heating from room temperature, and cooling from the melt were investigated by polarized optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The addition of C₆₀ enhanced the PLLA crystallization during solvent evaporation, during heating of the melt‐quenched films, and during cooling from the melt of As‐cast films, except for heating and cooling of the PLLA film with 1 wt % of C₆₀ prepared with dichloromethane. In the case of solvent evaporation, the difference in crystallinity between the PLLA films with and without C₆₀ became higher for the solvent with a lower boiling point. In the case of heating of melt‐quenched films, the addition of C₆₀ had a small effect on the crystallinity of PLLA, whereas significantly lowered the peak top and ending temperatures of cold crystallization, except for melt‐quenched PLLA film with 1 wt % of C₆₀ prepared with dichloromethane. The crystallinity of PLLA was determined by the solvent type, rather than by the C₆₀ concentration. In the case of cooling from the melt of As‐cast films, the addition of C₆₀ elevated the crystallinity and cold crystallization temperature values of PLLA films, except for PLLA films prepared with dichloromethane. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2167–2176, 2007     

Structural Changes in Drawn Poly(L-lactide)/Clay Hybrid Films

The films composed of poly(L-lactide)(PLLA)/organoclay hybrids (PLACHs) have been prepared via a melt-compounding process, in which the organoclay paticles are uniformly dispersed in the PLLA matrix. The changes in PLLA crystal orientation for the uniaxially drawn films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. Additionally, temperature dependence of the mechanical properties for these drawn films were examined by a dynamic viscoelastometer. After drawing the quenched PLACHs film at 90 °C, the orientation and crystallinity of PLLA crystal increased rapidly with increasing drawing ratio (λ) in the range more than 3 times. At the higher λ, the organoclay platelet particles in the PLACHs became parallel to the draw direction. The mechanical properties of drawn PLACHs were strongly dependent on both clay concentration and λ.     

聚左旋乳酸-聚乙二醇二嵌段共聚物的非等温结晶行为研究

通过变温广角X射线衍射(WAXD)、 差示扫描量热法(DSC)和偏光显微镜(POM)研究了聚左旋乳酸-聚乙二醇(PLLA-PEG)二嵌段共聚物的非等温结晶行为, 并用Ozawa方程分析了PLLA-PEG的非等温结晶动力学. 实验结果表明, 高熔点的硬段PLLA结晶符合Ozawa理论, 而低熔点的软段PEG对PLLA的结晶起到了稀释剂的作用; 当软段PEG开始结晶时, 已经结晶完全的硬段PLLA限制了PEG的结晶, 使得软段PEG的结晶不符合Ozawa理论. 此外, 不同降温速率下的结晶形貌研究结果表明, 随着降温速率的增加, 晶体经历了从环带球晶、 环带和十字消光的混合球晶到典型的十字消光球晶的转变, 并且球晶的尺寸也明显变小.