Porous biodegradable polyester blends of poly(L‐lactic acid) and poly(ε‐caprolactone): physical properties,morphology, and biodegradation |
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| Authors: | Hideto Tsuji Gen Horikawa |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Ecological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Tempaku‐cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441‐8580, JapanDepartment of Ecological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Tempaku‐cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441‐8580, Japan;2. Department of Ecological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Tempaku‐cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441‐8580, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), and their films without or blended with 50 wt% poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were prepared by solution casting. Porous films were obtained by water‐extraction of PEG from solution‐cast phase‐separated PLLA‐blend‐PCL‐blend‐PEG films. The effects of PLLA/PCL ratio on the morphology of the porous films and the effects of PLLA/PCL ratio and pores on the physical properties and biodegradability of the films were investigated. The pore size of the blend films decreased with increasing PLLA/PCL ratio. Polymer blending and pore formation gave biodegradable PLLA‐blend‐PCL materials with a wide variety of tensile properties with Young's modulus in the range of 0.07–1.4 GPa and elongation at break in the range 3–380%. Pore formation markedly increased the PLLA crystallinity of porous films, except for low PLLA/PCL ratio. Polymer blending as well as pore formation enhanced the enzymatic degradation of biodegradable polyester blends. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry |
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| Keywords: | poly(L‐lactic acid) poly(ε ‐caprolactone) poly(ethylene glycol) porous polymer blends physical properties enzymatic degradation |
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