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Crystallization and biodegradation of polylactide/carbon nanotube composites
Author(s) -
Wu Defeng,
Wu Liang,
Zhou Weidong,
Zhang Ming,
Yang Tao
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.21695
Subject(s) - crystallization , materials science , nucleation , carbon nanotube , differential scanning calorimetry , composite material , biodegradation , chemical engineering , amorphous solid , polarized light microscopy , nanotube , organic chemistry , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , optics , engineering
The crystallization behavior of polylactide/carbon nanotube composites was studied using differential scanning calorimeter and polarized optical microscope. The nucleation mechanisms and the crystallization kinetics were explored. The results show that the presence of nanotubes has nucleating effect on both the melt crystallization and the cold crystallization of PLA. However, the nanotubes also play the role of physical barrier, impeding the crystal growth dynamically. In the experimental range of temperatures, the presence of nanotubes accelerates the melt crystallization, while retards the overall kinetics of the cold crystallization. The biodegradability of the samples with various crystallization histories was then further examined. The results show that the presence of nanotubes reduces the biodegradation rate of PLA, and the amorphous sample shows the highest degradation levels. Moreover, a lower degradation level is observed both on the surface and inside the sample with melt crystallization history in contrast to the one with cold crystallization history. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:1721–1733, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers