Role of thermal history on the thermal behavior of poly(L-lactic acid) studied by DSC and optical microscopy

The thermal behavior of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy. For amorphous PLLA samples, double cold crystallisation peaks were observed in the DSC traces during heating process, being strongly dependent on heating rates. The observation was discussed based on the assumption that the quenched PLLA sample presented some remaining metastable or a precrystalline phase. A small exothermal peak was observed before the main melting peak at low heating rates. The probable reason was discussed through melt-recrystallisation mechanism. Influence of thermal history on the cold crystallisation and melting behavior was also performed on heating process for PLLA samples.