Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10(12), 5381-5397; doi:10.3390/ijms10125381
Article

A Study of the Crystallization, Melting, and Foaming Behaviors of Polylactic Acid in Compressed CO2

Wentao Zhaiemail, Yoorim Koemail, Wenli Zhuemail, Anson Wongemail and Chul B. Park* email
Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8, Canada
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 27 October 2009; in revised form: 26 November 2009 / Accepted: 14 December 2009 / Published: 16 December 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supercritical Carbon Dioxide)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [258 KB, uploaded 16 December 2009 16:34 CET]
Abstract: The crystallization and melting behaviors of linear polylactic acid (PLA) treated by compressed CO2 was investigated. The isothermal crystallization test indicated that while PLA exhibited very low crystallization kinetics under atmospheric pressure, CO2 exposure significantly increased PLA’s crystallization rate; a high crystallinity of 16.5% was achieved after CO2 treatment for only 1 min at 100 °C and 6.89 MPa. One melting peak could be found in the DSC curve, and this exhibited a slight dependency on treatment times, temperatures, and pressures. PLA samples tended to foam during the gas release process, and a foaming window as a function of time and temperature was established. Based on the foaming window, crystallinity, and cell morphology, it was found that foaming clearly reduced the needed time for PLA’s crystallization equilibrium.
Keywords: crystallization; polylactic acid; compressed CO2

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhai, W.; Ko, Y.; Zhu, W.; Wong, A.; Park, C.B. A Study of the Crystallization, Melting, and Foaming Behaviors of Polylactic Acid in Compressed CO2. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10, 5381-5397.

AMA Style

Zhai W, Ko Y, Zhu W, Wong A, Park CB. A Study of the Crystallization, Melting, and Foaming Behaviors of Polylactic Acid in Compressed CO2. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2009; 10(12):5381-5397.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhai, Wentao; Ko, Yoorim; Zhu, Wenli; Wong, Anson; Park, Chul B. 2009. "A Study of the Crystallization, Melting, and Foaming Behaviors of Polylactic Acid in Compressed CO2." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 10, no. 12: 5381-5397.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. EISSN 1422-0067 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert