In-site mineralization of amorphous calcium carbonate particles: A facile and efficient approach to fabricate poly(L-lactic acid) based hybrids

The aim of this investigation is to obtain a polymer-based hybrid material with biodegradability, biocompatibility, and good mechanical properties and this object was realized via, in-situ introduction of the unmodified calcium carbonate (CaCO3) into a poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) matrix. As verified by the measurements from scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the hybrid films which possesses a uniform dispersion of calcium carbonate CaCO3 in nano-meter scale, mechanically robustness and thermal stability could be fabricated by a mineralization-alike process. For example, the storage modulus increases from 441 MPa of neat PLLA to 1034 MPa of hybrid film containing 2% (w/w) CaCO3. In addition, the hybrid films display a significant improvement in its UV-exposure resistance. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.