Mixing of Racemic Poly(L-lactide)/Poly(D-lactide) Blend with Miscible Poly(D,L-lactide):Toward All Stereocomplex-type Polylactide with Strikingly Enhanced SC Crystallizability

Stereocomplex-type polylactide (SC-PLA) consisting of alternatively arranged poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) chains has gained a good reputation as a sustainable engineering plastic with outstanding heat resistance and durability,however its practical applications have been considerably hindered by the weak SC crystallizability.Current methods used to enhance the SC crystallizability are generally achieved at the expense of the precious bio-renewability and/or bio-degradability of PLAs.Herein,we demonstrate a feasible method to address these challenges by incorporating small amounts of poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) into linear high-molecular-weight PLLA/PDLA blends.The results show that the incorporation of the atactic PDLLA leads to a significant enhancement in the SC crystallizability because its good miscibility with the isotactic PLAs makes it possible to greatly improve the chain mixing between PLLA and PDLA as an effective compatibilizer.Meanwhile,the melt stability (i.e.,the stability of PLLA/PDLA chain assemblies upon melting) could also be improved substantially.Very intriguingly,SC crystallites are predominantly formed with increasing content and molecular weight of PDLLA.More notably,exclusive SC crystallization can be obtained in the racemic blends with 20 wt％ PDLLA having weight-average molecular weight of above 1 ×10s g/mol,where the chain mixing level and intermolecular interactions between the PLA enantiomers could be strikingly enhanced.Overall,our work could not only open a promising horizon for the development of all SC-PLA-based engineering plastic with exceptional SC crystallizability but also give a fundamental insight into the crucial role of PDLLA in improving the SC crystallizability of PLLA/PDLA blends.     

Poly(β-cyclodextrin)-mediated Polylactide-cholesterol Stereocomplex Micelles for Controlled Drug Delivery

A series of host-guest interaction-adjusted polylactide stereocomplex micelles was prepared via the self-assembly of 4-armed poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-lactide/D-lactide)-cholesterol(4-armed PEG-b-PLLA/PDLA-CHOL) and poly(β-cyclodextrin)(PCD) with the molar ratios of CHOL/β-CD at 1:0.5, 1:1, and 1:2 in an aqueous environment. The hydrodynamic diameters of the micelles ranged from 84.1 nm to 107 nm depending on the molar ratio of CHOL/β-CD. It was shown that the micelle with the largest proportion of PCD possessed excellent abilities in drug release, cell internalization as well as proliferation inhibitory effect toward human A549 lung cancer cells. The results demonstrated that the stereocomplex and host-guest interactions-mediated PLA micelles exhibited great potential in sustained drug delivery.     

聚乳酸立构复合物的研究最新进展与应用展望

立构复合型聚乳酸(SC-PLA)由于聚左旋乳酸(PLLA)与聚右旋乳酸(PDLA)分子链之间强烈的相互作用,可以使熔点提高约50℃,改善了聚乳酸在耐热性上的不足,同时这种立构复合结构使聚乳酸的力学性能、结晶性能、耐水解性等也得到提升.立构复合型聚乳酸的合成新进展主要集中在嵌段型SC-PLA的制备,同时广泛采用X射线衍射...     

不断向自然与金属冶金学习的高分子加工

总结了高分子材料加工的发展趋势及发展历程,并指出过去很多加工新技术的出现都得益于从自然现象及其他材料行业中获得很好的借鉴,如从蜘蛛吐丝发展出溶液纺丝成型、从玻璃吹制发展出吹塑成型、从金属锻造发展出压延成型及固相拉拔成型等;随后针对生物基可生物降解的立构复合型聚乳酸难以采用传统熔融加工方法成型的问题,借鉴金属粉末冶金加工的思路,提出了一种通过低温烧结制备高性能立构复合型聚乳酸制品的新方法.通过这种加工方法不仅可以有效解决立构复合型聚乳酸在熔融加工过程中熔体稳定性差、易降解的问题,而且可以制得耐热性好、光学透明度高、耐水解降解性佳、综合力学性能优异的高性能聚乳酸制品.     

三臂支化PLLA-PDLA嵌段共聚物的合成及立构复合结晶行为

以三羟甲基乙烷为起始剂, 开环聚合L-丙交酯(LLA), 合成三臂支化左旋聚乳酸(PLLA)预聚物. 采用端基活化技术对预聚物进行端羟基活化, 再与D-丙交酯(DLA)进行开环聚合, 合成了不同分子量的三臂支化左旋聚乳酸-右旋聚乳酸(PLLA-PDLA)嵌段共聚物. 采用核磁共振谱和凝胶渗透色谱等对样品的结构和分子量进行测试, 结果表明,合成的嵌段共聚物链结构具有链段立构规整度和高分子量的特点; 通过调节DLA单体与PLLA预聚物的投料比, 可实现对PLLA-PDLA嵌段共聚物的序列结构调控. 差示扫描量热仪和广角X 射线衍射结果表明, 三臂支化PLLA-PDLA嵌段共聚物的异构体分子间生成立构复合晶体, 其熔点高于200℃; 共聚物的嵌段序列结构对材料的凝聚态转变行为有很大的影响.     

Cascade Energy Transfer and White-Light Emission in Chirality-Controlled Crystallization-Driven Two-Dimensional Co-assemblies from Donor and Acceptor Dye-Conjugated Polylactides

Achieving predictable and programmable two-dimensional (2D) structures with specific functions from exclusively organic soft materials remains a scientific challenge. This article unravels stereocomplex crystallization-driven self-assembly as a facile method for producing thermally robust discrete 2D-platelets of diamond shape from biodegradable semicrystalline polylactide (PLA) scaffolds. The method involves co-assembling two PLA stereoisomers, namely, PY-PDLA and NMI-PLLA , which form stereocomplex (SC)-crystals in isopropanol. By conjugating a well-known Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) donor and acceptor dye, namely, pyrene ( PY ) and naphthalene monoimide ( NMI ), respectively, to the chain termini of these two interacting stereoisomers, a thermally robust FRET process can be stimulated from the 2D array of the co-assembled dyes on the thermally resilient SC-PLA crystal surfaces. Uniquely, by decorating the surface of the SC-PLA crystals with an externally immobilized guest dye, Rhodamine-B, similar diamond-shaped structures could be produced that exhibit pure white-light emission through a surface-induced two-step cascade energy transfer process. The FRET response in these systems displays remarkable dependence on the intrinsic crystalline packing, which could be modulated by the chirality of the co-assembling PLA chains. This is supported by comparing the properties of similar 2D platelets generated from two homochiral PLLAs ( PY-PLLA and NMI-PLLA ) labeled with the same FRET pair.     

立构规整性二氧化碳共聚物:从无定型到结晶性材料转变

二氧化碳与环氧烷烃交替共聚制备降解性聚碳酸酯是重要的绿色聚合反应之一.尽管二氧化碳共聚物的工业化已经具备了一定基础,但却受制于材料性能、品种单一等问题,发展十分缓慢.先前发展的二氧化碳基聚碳酸酯是非晶且玻璃化转变温度较低,存在高温强度迅速变差等问题.通过立构规整性聚合使碳酸酯单元在主链上有序排列可能是该类聚合物结晶的主要途径.本文重点介绍了二氧化碳与环氧烷烃的立构规整性聚合方面的最新研究进展,包括高立构规整性催化剂的设计,以及结晶性二氧化碳基聚碳酸酯的创制工作.     

Stereocomplex Crystallization in Asymmetric Diblock Copolymers Studied by Dynamic Monte Carlo Simulations

Stereocomplex crystallization in asymmetric diblock copolymers was studied using dynamic Monte Carlo simulations, and the key factor dominating the formation of stereocomplex crystallites(SCs) was uncovered. The asymmetric diblock copolymers with higher degree of asymmetry exhibit larger difference between volume fractions of beads of different blocks, and local miscibility between different kinds of beads is lower, leading to lower SC content. To minimize the interference from volume fraction of beads, the SC formation in blends of asymmetric diblock copolymers was also studied. For the cases where the volume fractions of beads of different blocks are the same, similar local miscibility between beads of different blocks and similar SC content was observed. These findings indicate that the volume fraction of beads of different blocks is a key factor controlling the SC formation in the asymmetric diblock copolymers. The SC content can be regulated by adjusting the difference between the contents of beads of different blocks in asymmetric diblock copolymers.     

Effect of Star-shaped chain architectures on the polylactide stereocomplex crystallization behaviors

Linear and star-shaped polylactides (PLA) with similar molecular weights of each arm are synthesized via ring-opening polymerization of LA with 3-butyn-l-ol and pentaerythritol as initiators,respectively.By solution blending of equivalent mass of poly(L-lactic acid)s (PLLAs) and poly(D-lactic acid)s (PDLAs),perfect PLA stereocomplexes (scPLAs) are prepared and confirmed by WAXD and FTIR analysis.Effect of chain architectures on stereocomplex crystallization is investigated by studying the non-isothermal and isothermal crystallization of linear and star-shaped polylactide stereocomplexes.In dynamic DSC and POM test,star-shaped PLLA (4sPLLA)/PDLA and PLLA/star-shaped PDLA (4sPDLA) stereocomplexes reach rapid crystallization and higher crystallinity due to larger spherulite density of star-shaped chain and excellent chain mobility of linear chain.In isothermal crystallization test,much faster crystallization and less crystallization half-time is obtained with the increase of star-shaped chain.Meanwhile,4sPLLA/PDLA and PLLA/4sPDLA are found to have the highest crystallinity,suggesting limitation of too much star-shaped chain for 4sPLLA/4sPDLA and restriction of linear chain in nucleation capacity for PLLA/PDLA.The results reveal that star-shaped chain has an important influence on the crystallization of scPLAs.     

Enhanced crystallization,thermal properties,and hydrolysis resistance of poly(l-lactic acid) and its stereocomplex by incorporation of graphene nanoplatelets

Poly(d-lactic acid) (PDLA) and graphene nanoplatelets were used as nucleating agents for poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA). The graphene (1 wt%) shows a more pronounced effect than PDLA in facilitating PLLA crystallization. Graphene effect on crystallization of stereocomplex (SC) polylactide is also demonstrated. Although medium molecular weight PLLA was blended with a limited content (1 wt%) of low molecular weight PDLA in the presence of graphene (0.5 phr), SC melting temperature is slightly increased without the use of high molecular weight polylactide pair. Also, optimal graphene content (0.5 phr–1.5 phr) promotes crystallization of PLLA homocrystals in the three-component system (PLLA/PDLA/graphene). Graphene additionally enhances Young's modulus and barrier property to thermal degradation of both PLLA and SC systems. Furthermore, PLLA/graphene is more resistant to hydrolysis than PLLA. Likewise, PLLA/PDLA/graphene is more stable than PLLA/PDLA during hydrolysis.