Effect of the melt‐mixing condition on the physical property of poly(l‐lactic acid)/poly(d‐lactic acid) blends |
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| Authors: | Esraa El‐Khodary Yoko Fukui Masaki Yamamoto Hideki Yamane |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan;2. Center for Fiber and Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Kyoto, Japan |
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| Abstract: | The effect of the mixing condition in a mill‐type mixer on the thermal property and the crystal formation of the poly(l ‐lactide)/poly(d ‐lactide) blends is investigated. The blends melt‐mixed at 200 and 210 °C under application of a high shear flow tend to show a single melting peak of the stereocomplex crystal (SC) in the differential scanning calorimetry first and second heating processes without indicating the trace of the melting of homo‐chiral crystal. The mixing at an elevated temperature causes a serious thermal degradation. Further kneading of the blends at an elevated temperature higher than Tm of SC causes the transesterification between the same enatiomeric chains forming block copolymers of l ‐ and d ‐chains. This block copolymer acts as a nucleating agent of SC and the compatibilizing agent between poly(l ‐lactide) and poly(d ‐lactide) and promotes the formation of SC. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45489. |
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| Keywords: | biopolymers and renewable polymers blends crystallization differential scanning calorimetry thermoplastics |
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