Journal
POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY
Volume 169, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.108991
Keywords
Polylactide; Biodegradable polymers; Micro-cutting; Ultrafast laser sources; Polymer degradation; Norrish mechanisms
Categories
Funding
- POR FSE Sicily 2020 - Project: Polymeric systems: innovative aspects and applications in the biomedical and agri-food fields - SPIN OFF of Polymers, Call 11/2017 - Strengthening employability in the RD system and the emergence of research spin offs in
- Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy
- National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development
- Josef Ressel Center
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In this study, we carried out the structural and thermal characterization of a medical-grade poly (lactide) (PLA) by SEC, TGA, DSC, NMR, ICP-MS and Py-GC/MS. Moreover, we investigated the laser-induced degradation occurring when ultrashort laser pulses (ULP) were employed to cut extremely thin polymer films prepared by solvent-casting. ULP polymer cutting technology is an interesting manufacturing process for its advantages in potential medical applications. In fact, heat transmission to the region surrounding the cuts is limited, so that the incisions are precise and the effects on the regions around them are small. In this way, the need for post-processing is reduced and ULP cutting becomes interesting for industrial applications. However, degradation induced by ULP may occur and compromise the properties of the polymer samples. To investigate this possibility, portions of PIA films, ultrashort laser cut (ULC) and uncut, were analysed by SEC, DSC, NMR and FTIR. Furthermore, PLA oligomers were studied by ESI-MS. Both SEC and NMR showed a decrease in the molecular weight. FTIR, ESI-MS and NMR spectra revealed the presence of olefin end groups originated from a beta-H transfer mechanism, induced by heat and/or light (Norrish II mechanism). Additionally, the inspection of the ESI mass spectra highlighted the cleavage of ester bonds related to the Norrish I type mechanism, undetected by the other techniques. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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