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Induced Crystallization of PLLA in the Presence of 1,3,5‐Benzenetricarboxylamide Derivatives as Nucleators: Preparation of Haze‐Free Crystalline PLLA Materials
Author(s) -
Nakajima Hajime,
Takahashi Masahiko,
Kimura Yoshiharu
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.200900353
Subject(s) - crystallization , materials science , nucleation , chemical engineering , annealing (glass) , crystal (programming language) , crystal growth , optical microscope , polymer chemistry , crystallography , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , scanning electron microscope , computer science , engineering , programming language
The crystallization behavior of poly( L ‐lactide) (PLLA) was investigated in the presence of benzenetricarboxylamide (BTA) derivatives as crystal nucleators. BTA‐cyclohexyl (BTA‐cHe) was the most effective nucleating agent, but induced a complete loss of transparency of the processed material. On the other hand, BTA‐n‐hexyl (BTA‐nHe) enhanced crystallization with little increase in haze. PLLA containing BTA‐cHe enhanced PLLA crystallization in α‐form crystal whereas BTA‐nHe enhanced α′‐form (incomplete α‐form) with forming smaller spherulites. TEM revealed BTA‐nHe had completely dissolved in the PLLA matrix in melt and recrystallized during the thermal annealing process. It was also found that the size of the recrystallized BTA‐nHe was in the nanometer range to effectively nucleate the PLLA crystals.