Why Is Crystalline Poly(lactic acid) Brittle at Room Temperature?

• Published in: Macromolecules Vol. 52; no. 14; pp. 5429 - 5441
• Main Authors: Razavi, Masoud, Wang, Shi-Qing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 23.07.2019
• Subjects: ambient temperature; biodegradability; brittleness; crystallization; heat; light microscopy; nanocrystals; petroleum; polyethylene terephthalates; polylactic acid; thermal properties

This work shows that the environmental-friendly biorenewable and biodegradable poly­(lactic acid) (PLLA) can be made to have superior mechanical and thermal characteristics and thus show promise to replace conventional petroleum-based polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate. Using time-resolved...