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Crystallization behavior of plasticized poly(lactide) film by poly(l-lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-lactic acid) triblock copolymer

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Abstract

Poly(l-lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-lactic acid) triblock copolymer (PLLA-PEG-PLLA) prepared by simple esterification of l-lactic acid (l-LA) and diol-polyethylene glycol (diol-PEG) is proposed as an effective plasticizer for poly(lactide) film (PLA). Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses reveal improvement in PLA/PLLA-PEG-PLLA blend miscibility without PEG segment recrystallization in the PLA matrix. A comparative study on the performance of PLLA-PEG-PLLA with two different PLLA chain lengths clarifies that long PLLA-PEG-PLLA with balanced block lengths of PLLA and PEG segments performs a semicrystalline structure of PLA crystal without PEG-crystal formation, resulting in blend miscibility. This microstructure clearly induces the perfect α-form of the PLA crystal with increased degree of crystallinity to 50%. Additionally, the sufficiently long PLLA segment in triblock copolymer can get entangled with PLA chains, allowing to enhance melt strength of the PLA/long PLLA-PEG-PLLA blend. In contrast, short PLLA-PEG-PLLA is amorphous, obstructing the formation of the highly ordered PLA packing structure in the blend, and contributing to poor melt strength and mechanical weakness. Furthermore, the PLA/long PLLA-PEG-PLLA blend improves toughness with increased elongation at break to 80% while maintaining the relatively high tensile strength, as compared to that of PLA/PEG or PLA/short PLLA-PEG-PLLA films at the same blending weight ratio.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, for financial support and plastic processing equipments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Packaging and Materials Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand

    Piyawanee Jariyasakoolroj, Nattapon Rojanaton & Lerpong Jarupan

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  1. Piyawanee Jariyasakoolroj
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  2. Nattapon Rojanaton
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  3. Lerpong Jarupan
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Correspondence to Piyawanee Jariyasakoolroj.

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Jariyasakoolroj, P., Rojanaton, N. & Jarupan, L. Crystallization behavior of plasticized poly(lactide) film by poly(l-lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-lactic acid) triblock copolymer. Polym. Bull. 77, 2309–2323 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-019-02862-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-019-02862-4

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