Toughening semicrystalline poly(lactic acid) by morphology alteration

The incorporation of the triblock copolymer (PDLA-PEG-PDLA) into Poly(L-Lactic Acid) (PLLA) has produced a semicrystalline polymer of substantial modulus and strength. These improvements in mechanical properties could potentially increase the utility of this biomass-based polymer. The blended samples have a continuous amorphous phase with crystalline regions being the discontinuous portion. Micro-Raman spectroscopy revealed that a stereocomplex involving PDLA and PLLA chains exists in the crystalline region. It can be concluded that the poly(ethylene glycol), the flexible midblock component, is necessarily dispersed in these crystalline regions. Both morphological features can contribute to the improvement in mechanical properties. Therefore, the successful toughening of PLA may be achieved due to several mechanisms working synergistically. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.