1 research outputs found
Highly Enhanced Mesophase Formation in Glassy Poly(l‑lactide) at Low Temperatures by Low-Pressure CO<sub>2</sub> That Provides Moderately Increased Molecular Mobility
The mesophase structuring
in melt-quenched polyÂ(l-lactide)
(PLLA) treated in low-pressure CO<sub>2</sub> at 2 MPa and 0–35
°C was investigated by using infrared spectroscopy, differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature-modulated DSC, and atomic
force microscopy (AFM). It was found that the mesophase formation
in glassy PLLA was significantly enhanced, in particular at lower
temperature (0 °C), which promoted a distinctly faster formation
rate. AFM results revealed that the CO<sub>2</sub>-enhanced mesophase
exhibited nodular morphology with dramatically increased nucleation
density. A framework of multistage model in combination with the moderately
improved molecular mobility exerted by CO<sub>2</sub> was proposed
to explain the main findings. Because of the moderate molecular mobility,
a tremendous number of metastable mesomorphic layers were formed and
stabilized by the accompanying development of the rigid amorphous
fraction (RAF), leading to the immobilization of the remaining mobile
amorphous fraction (MAF). The mesomorphic phases were converted to
more stable crystals via cooperative structural reorganization upon
the devitrification of the RAF, requiring high chain mobility, showing
time and temperature dependence. Consequently, the amorphous PLLA
transiently transformed to the mesophase before transforming into
the crystal during treating at a relatively high temperature (35 °C).
Alternatively, upon heating, the mesophase underwent disordering–reorganization
to form active crystallite, profoundly promoting the cold crystallization
of the surrounding restored MAF, resulting in obviously depressed
cold-crystallization temperatures. The present results have important
implications in understanding and regulation of the crystallization
of polymers