Article
Chemistry, Applied
Qian Ren, Minghui Wu, Long Wang, Wenge Zheng, Yuta Hikima, Takeshi Semba, Masahiro Ohshima
Summary: Adding biodegradable cellulose nanofibers to PLA matrix can significantly improve its crystallization properties and melt elasticity, as well as enhance the foaming behavior of PLA.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Qian Zhao, Bowen Wang, Chenyuan Qin, Qiuxuan Li, Chuntai Liu, Changyu Shen, Yaming Wang
Summary: The study showed that the presence of MXene in nonisothermal melt crystallization increases crystallinity and shortens half-crystallization time, but does not change the crystallization peak temperature of PLA. In nonisothermal crystallization from the glassy state, the incorporation of MXene decreases the cold crystallization peak temperature and reduces crystallinity marginally, without affecting the half-crystallization time of PLA.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qian Ren, Minghui Wu, Long Wang, Wenge Zheng, Yuta Hikima, Takeshi Semba, Masahiro Ohshima
Summary: This study proposes a scalable and green foam injection molding technique to produce high-performance PLA foams by adding cellulose nanofibers. The added nanofibers significantly improve the properties of PLA and enhance the foaming ability, resulting in the successful production of PLA foam material with improved performance. This green strategy opens up new possibilities for developing fully-biobased, lightweight and high-performance PLA material.
JOURNAL OF SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei-Wei Chang, Jinye Niu, Hui Peng, Weifeng Rong
Summary: In this study, selective formation of stereocomplex (sc) crystallization and suppression of homocrystallization (hc) in high-molecular-weight (HMW) PLLA/PDLA blends were achieved by adding C70 as a nucleator. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed improved intermolecular interactions and inhibited molecular chain diffusion and mobility, leading to accelerated sc crystallization. The addition of C70 also resulted in a higher thermal stability compared to the neat PLLA/PDLA blend.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mitul Kumar Patel, Freja Hansson, Olli Pitkanen, Shiyu Geng, Kristiina Oksman
Summary: This study investigates the enhancement of crystallinity and gas barrier properties of polylactic acid (PLA) by adding poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and glycerol triacetate (GTA) functionalized chitin nano crystals (ChNCs). The results show that the addition of ChNCs improves the crystallinity and mechanical properties of PHB, as well as significantly reduces the permeability of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This study demonstrates that adding ChNCs can achieve suitable gas barrier properties for food packaging films.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenyuan Qin, Kun Chen, Ruyan Xu, Yaming Wang
Summary: Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing and their effect on the crystallization behavior of PLA was investigated. It was found that the addition of a small amount of BNNTs can significantly enhance the crystallization ability of PLA, without changing the crystallization mechanism.
COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
I. Montes-Zavala, M. J. Perez-Gonzalez, E. O. Castrejon-Gonzalez, Diego A. Santamaria-Razo, A. Almendarez-Camarillo, E. Perez, J. A. Gonzalez-Calderon
Summary: The research examines the influence of varying surface area of silicon dioxide nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of PLA nanocomposites, as well as the role of coupling agent quantity in their compatibility. Different surface areas of nanoparticles have different effects on mechanical and thermal behaviors of the material, affecting crystallization rates and in turn mechanical properties of nanocomposites.
Article
Polymer Science
Yangzhe Hou, Han Jia, Yamin Pan, Chuntai Liu, Changyu Shen, Xianhu Liu
Summary: This study successfully prepared brand-new porous PLA films with enhanced flexibility and heat resistance using blade coating and thermally induced phase separation methods. The resulting blend films showed improved mechanical properties and high porosity, making them suitable for microfiltration, packaging, and modified applications.
Article
Polymer Science
Hideto Tsuji, Kazumasa Iguchi, Yuki Arakawa
Summary: The research studied the effects of different molecular weights of crystalline blocks but similar overall molecular weights on the crystallization behavior, structure, morphology, and thermal properties of PLLA-b-PDLLA/PDLA-b-PDLLA blends. It was found that the incorporated long amorphous PDLLA blocks facilitated unique SC crystallization in the blends with different crystalline block fractions.
Article
Polymer Science
Danli Nie, Xianze Yin, Ziqing Cai, Jintao Wang
Summary: This study investigates the influence of crystallization on the shape memory properties of PLA by preparing PLA plates with different aggregation structures. The results show that the crystal region structure determines the shape memory performance. This research contributes to the design and fabrication of high-performance shape memory materials.
Article
Polymer Science
Xiangning Wen, Yunlan Su, Guoming Liu, Shaofan Li, Alejandro J. Muller, Sanat K. Kumar, Dujin Wang
Summary: The correlation between the dispersion quality of PEG-grafted silica nanoparticles and the crystallization ability of PEO nanocomposites was systematically investigated, revealing that high sigma and low P/N conditions can increase the nucleation rate of PEO. This study highlights the importance of nanoparticle dispersion and grafting characteristics in influencing the crystallization behavior of polymer nanocomposites, leading to novel and unexpected results.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Masayuki Yamaguchi, Wen Shu, Takeyoshi Kimura, Hoang-Giang Dai Vo, Takumitsu Kida, Toyoichiro Mori, Makoto Kitani, Norifumi Aridome, Akira Miyamoto
Summary: The study found that a product made of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) through injection molding exhibited an abnormal dimensional change, expanding in the flow direction after postprocessing annealing. Although the addition of PVAL did not accelerate the crystallization of PLA during cooling, the PLA showed transcrystallization from the dispersed PVAL droplets during postprocessing annealing, resulting in a high degree of molecular orientation in the injection-molded products after annealing. This anomalous behavior is important for controlling dimensional change after processing.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Masayuki Yamaguchi, Wen Shu, Takeyoshi Kimura, Hoang-Giang Dai Vo, Takumitsu Kida, Toyoichiro Mori, Makoto Kitani, Norifumi Aridome, Akira Miyamoto
Summary: The study found that an injection-molded product made from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) exhibited expansion in the flow direction after postprocessing annealing. This was due to the transcrystallization of PLA from the deformed PVAL droplets during annealing. The injection-molded products showed a high degree of molecular orientation after annealing, unlike the unannealed products.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Alessandra Longo, Giovanni Dal Poggetto, Mario Malinconico, Paola Laurienzo, Ernesto Di Maio, Maria Laura Di Lorenzo
Summary: This work presents the enhancement of crystallization rate of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) by introducing optically pure short chain branches. The synthesized graft copolymer demonstrates faster crystallization rate compared to commercial PLLA and a binary blend with the same composition. The short branches play a crucial role in promoting crystal nucleation and growth.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Naharullah Jamaluddin, Yu- Hsu, Taka-Aki Asoh, Hiroshi Uyama
Summary: The study investigated the effect of cellulose nanofiber fillers on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) performance by modifying the CNF with different acid anhydrides. The results showed that modified CNF fillers, especially CNFp, improved the compatibility with the PLA matrix and enhanced the properties of transparency, mechanical strength, and wettability of the composite film.
