1 research outputs found
Crystallization of Poly(l‑lactic acid) on Water Surfaces via Controlled Solvent Evaporation and Langmuir–Blodgett Films
Solvent evaporation is one of the most fundamental processes
in
soft matter. Structures formed via solvent evaporation are often complex
yet tunable via the competition between solute diffusion and solvent
evaporation time scales. This work concerns the polymer evaporative
crystallization on the water surface (ECWS). The dynamic and two-dimensional
(2D) nature of the water surface offers a unique way to control the
crystallization pathway of polymeric materials. Using poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) as the model polymer, we demonstrate that both
one-dimensional (1D) crystalline filaments and two-dimensional (2D)
lamellae are formed via ECWS, in stark contrast to the 2D Langmuir–Blodgett
monolayer systems as well as polymer solution crystallization. Results
show that this filament-lamella biphasic structure is tunable via
chemical structures such as molecular weight and processing conditions
such as temperature and evaporation rate