Glass transition and mechanical properties of PLLA and PDLLA‐PGA copolymer blends

The change of the glass transition temperatures ( T g ) in the blend of poly( L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) and the copolymers of poly(D, L ‐lactic acid) and poly(glycolic acid) (PDLLA‐PGA) with different D, L ‐lactic acid and glycolic acid composition ratio (50 : 50, 65 : 35, and 75 : 25) was studied by DSC. Dynamic mechanical measurement and tensile testing were performed at various temperatures around T g of the blend. In the blend of PLLA and PDLLA‐PGA50 (composition ratio of PDLLA and PGA 50 : 50), T g decreased from that of PLLA (about 58°C) to that of PDLLA‐PGA50 (about 30°C). A single step decrease was observed in the DSC curve around T g between the weight fraction of PLLA (W(PLLA)) 1.0 and 0.7 (about 52°C) but two‐step changes in the curve are observed between W(PLLA) = 0.6 and 0.3. The T g change between that of PLLA and that of PDLLA‐PGA and the appearance of two T g s suggest the existence of PLLA rich amorphous region and PDLLA‐PGA copolymer rich amorphous region in the blend. A single step decrease of E′ occurs at around T g of the pure PLLA but the two‐step decrease was observed at W(PLLA) = 0.6 and 0.4, supporting the existence of the PLLA rich region and PDLLA‐PGA rich region. Tensile testing for various blends at elevated temperature showed that the extension without yielding occurred above T g of the blend. Partial miscibility is suggested for PLLA and PDLLA‐PGA copolymer blends. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2164–2173, 2004